Tony and Ziva: Its a Family Life
by michaelscotedeproblem
Summary: Tony and Ziva are married, and are about to realise the surprises and difficulties that married life can bring! Updated with 'Fixing it & Daddy's feeling dead'
1. What happened there?

Title: What happened there?

Author: MrsSmithySmith

Rating: T

Pairings: Tony D. Ziva D.

Summary: A new case opens, and Ziva's sick!

* * *

><p>"Ziva! Have you seen my tie anywhere?"<p>

"Tony it is here on the kitchen table, where you left it."

"When did I-Oh."

"I am glad you remember the reason it is here, but if you do not hurry up, we will be late for the third time this week."

"You're not the one who got head-slapped multiple times." Rubbing his head, clearly reliving the memory.

"My little furry mutt, is still in pain?" Ziva stepped towards him, and placed her hand on his cheek.

"A kiss may help you know." She smiled, and gently placed her lips on his.

The kiss ended as quickly as it started. "Come on Tony, we will be late." She tugged on his hand, pulling him and their coats and bags out of the door.

* * *

><p>"I'm just saying, why didn't you get head-slapped?"<p>

"Because Tony, I am your wife." Before he had a chance to respond, Gibbs reappeared in the bullpen, yelling orders.

"Dead marine. Grab your gear." The team grabbed their bags and rushed to keep up with their fearless leader. "McGee!"

"Sorry Boss."

"You three, take the charger, I'll meet you there." Gibbs then tossed the keys in the air, to see who could catch them first. Ziva had a look of victory on her face, when she caught them; even more so when both Tony and McGee groaned heavily. It took them 10 minutes to arrive at the scene, Tony and McGee dramatically gripped the ground, when they exited the charger. Ziva merely rolled her eyes, and set up her kit, taking photographs of the scene, leaving McGee and Tony to do their own thing. Gibbs arrived 15 minutes later, McGee was bagging evidence, and Tony had just finished gathering the victims prints.

"Hey Boss. The victim is Lieutenant Commander Amber Wilkinson. 29. Just returned from a tour in Iraq. Currently stationed in Maryland, no family members, lives alone." Tony said.

Ziva popped up behind them, her notepad in her hand. "I have just finished co-ordinating with the witnesses, no one heard anything, seemingly silent. No gun shots, shouting, arguing, whenever this happened no one knows."

"McGee bag and tag. DiNozzo photos. Ziver, with me." Each team member went off in separate directions, prepared to complete their orders.

"What do you need me to do, Gibbs?"

"Who was the first witness you interviewed?"

Flicking through her notepad to find the name, she said, "A Mr Cameron Beets. Lives next door, acted very nosy and approached me to see what was happening."

"You got a description?"

"Uh average build, Caucasian, dark hair, quite muscular. Looks about 31/32. Why?"

He remained silent, and gave Ziva a knowing glance. "You want to talk to him?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Let's go." They walked over to the next house, the door was ajar causing them to raise their guns. Stepping inside the agents separated moving to opposite sides of the room.

"Clear!"

"Gibbs!" He appeared seconds later at her side. "Blood splatter. I think this is the primary crime scene."

"Corner this house off. I'll get DiNozzo over here to give you a hand. I'll take McGee back to HQ." Ziva nodded towards her boss, and went back outside to gather her kit, and corner off the scene. When she returned, she found Tony bagging evidence.

"Hey."

"Hi. Have you found any relevant evidence yet?"

"Yeah I did. I found a 9mm casing by the door. I've taken swabs from the blood trail, to take to Abby. Just need you to photograph the rest of the scene."

"Good job."

"Thanks honey. I'll go put these out in the charger." Hint of sarcasm; gesturing towards the bags of evidence in his hands. Ziva suddenly grabbed hold of his arm.

"Wait Tony, did you not see that, over there?"

"What?"

"The shattered window, there is a fibre on the edge." She then let go of him, and photographed the evidence, whilst Tony pulled the fibre away.

"Navy blue cotton fibre. Matches the jacket we found the victim in."

"We need to bag it Tony."

* * *

><p>It wasn't until half an hour later, that Tony and Ziva returned to HQ. Gibbs was clear to point this out to them, before they had the chance to speak themselves.<p>

"What took you so long, DiNozzo's?"

"We found evidence at the primary crime scene, we believe it could be where the lieutenant was first struck, Gibbs."

"You sent it to Abby?"

"Yeah Boss, she's working on the fibre we found as we speak."

Gibbs nodded and sat down at his desk. A minute later his phone rang. "Yeah Gibbs." He nodded. "Ok. Be right there." He stood up and headed for the elevator. Abby was blaring her BrainMatter CD through the lab, it took Gibbs a few minutes to get her to recognise his presence. When she did, she turned down her music.

"Abs whatcha got?"

"Hi Gibbs. I analyzed the fibre that Tony and Ziva found. It's a match to the jacket you found the victim in. I also ran a check on the blood swabs; it's a match to the victim too. I think Ziva's hunch was right, next door may be the crime scene."

"Thanks Abs." He then placed a Caf-Pow in front of her, and left.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Don't you want to hear my theory?"

"Go."

"Ok, the fibre found on the glass, I think that maybe there was a tussle, and the lieutenant was pushed into the window, and she fell causing a blow to the head."

"She has more than one blow to the head Abs."

"Maybe that happened during the tussle, you know she was thrown about. I mean she could have hit her head on anything in that house."

* * *

><p>"McGee! You contact a next of kin?"<p>

"No Boss, she had no family. I have however managed to contact her CO, a captain William Hodge, he's on his way over as we speak."

"DiNozzo!"

"I headed down to autopsy, and Ducky confirmed the victim suffered blunt force trauma prior to her death, and the bullet found in her chest is what topped her off."

"Ziver."

"I went through her financial records, nothing out of the ordinary."

Gibbs nodded, and gestured for McGee to follow him. Picking up a file, he'd left on his desk, they headed for the stairs.

"Captain Hodge take a seat. Special Agent Gibbs, this is Special Agent McGee." The captain nodded in response.

"How long have you known Lieutenant Wilkerson?"

"About three years now."

"She's dead." Gibbs flicked through the file, pulling out a picture of the lieutenant, hoisting it forward to the captain; whilst McGee pulled out his notepad.

"How?"

"Gunshot. Our coroner confirmed her death between 12 and 3 am last night. Did she have any enemies?"

"She had people that disagreed with her work ethics."

"What sort of disagreements?" McGee asked.

"Just about the way she did things, she had her own way of working, others didn't like that, Agent McGee."

* * *

><p>"Boss, I checked out a place called Q-Tech, where Wilkerson was known to be heading, for the past three months. It's a base for navy men and women, just after they finish a tour, they get prepared for new tours, by trainers."<p>

"It's a training ground?"

"Yeah."

"Ziva."

"I checked for any callouts to Q-Tech, and over the last three months, there have been 35 calls made to the Met police, for domestic disputes involving Amber Wilkerson. Witness statements confirm shouting, screaming, thrown furniture, lots of banging. This was happening every few days."

"Find out if she was close to anyone on that base, then bring 'em in."

"Where you going Boss?"

"See Ducky."

Ziva suddenly paled and ran off in the direction of the ladies room. Tony was instantly on his feet, and followed her.

She was rinsing her mouth out, when he locked the door. "Hey Honey. You ok?"

"Yes I am fine."

"Not sick or anything?"

"It must have been that Chinese we had last night. I cannot think of anything else."

"I would be sick too then. I had the same food as you."

"Tony, our bodies react differently."

"So what would you suggest it is?"

"I don't know, I just feel crap."

"You wanna go home?"

"No. I will just go and stay with Abby for a while, have a lie down."

"Ok."

"Thank you for worrying."

"I wouldn't be a very good husband if I didn't."

Ziva placed her hand on his chest and gave him a quick kiss, before leaving. When she arrived in Abby's lab, she recieved a bone crushing hug, Abby had a look of concern on her face, when Ziva didn't smile.

"Ziva, are you alright? You look very pale."

"I just feel a little sick, that is all. I want to relax."

"Was it something you ate?"

"Perhaps. I do not know."

Abby tried studying Ziva's figure, her posture, her body language, trying to figure out the signs of an illness. "Ziva are you sure you're ok? Tony should've taken you home."

"Abby I-I just want to lie down. Please."

"Sure. The futon's in my office, as always."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Ducky claims the victim engaged in sexual activity before she died."<p>

"I'll track her cell phone records from the past 48 hours, see if anything pops up."

"Good. DiNozzo! Find whatever you can, on a Cameron Beets."

"Next door neighbour?"

"Yeah."

"Think he's involved?"

"Well, I'll know once you get me that information."

"On it Boss."

"Where the hell is Ziva!"

"Down in the lab with Abby, she's not feeling too well."

"Why didn't you take your wife home?"

"I offered, she said no, and went to lie down."

"Boss, I got something."

Gibbs walked over and stood beside McGee waiting for him to continue.

"I found that Wilkerson's cell phone was in the vicinity of the seven bells club, last night, until at least 11:30pm."

"Tony get Ziva. Get down there."

"But Boss she-"

"Now DiNozzo!"

Tony huffed, and grabbed his and Ziva's bags and coats, and trailed down to the lab. He put their stuff on the ground, before greeting Abby.

"Hey Abby."

"Tony!" She gave him a classic Abby hug. Squeezing the life out of him.

"Hmmph."

"What's wrong with Ziva? Is she ok? She looks awful. I don't mean she looks awful; it's she just-"

"Abby its fine. I need to talk to her. Thanks."

Tony walked through the lab, into the office; he knelt down beside Ziva and began stroking her hair.

"Tony? What are you doing here?"

"Gibbs needs us to go to the Seven Bells club; the victim was there last night."

"Ok. Let's go."

"Sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes. I am fine. I just need to do my job Tony." He nodded, and stood up, helping her up. They went back through to the lab. Ziva thanked Abby, and then allowed herself to be guided out the lab by Tony.

* * *

><p>"Gibbs we spoke to the owner of the Seven Bells, and he confirmed that the lieutenant was there but she was not alone."<p>

"Who was she with?"

"Beets." Tony interjected.

"Good job he's in custody then."

"What did you pick him up for?"

"FBI caught him on a drunk and disorderly charge."

"How long before you can interrogate him Boss?"

"Not til the morning, gotta wait til he sobers up. Go home. Nothing left for you to do, look after Ziva."

Tony nodded in response and grabbed his bag and coat, whilst Ziva did the same. Gibbs waited for them to enter the elevator, before speaking.

"Where ya going, McGee?"

"Home Boss?"

"Nuh-uh. We got work to do."

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews please. Should I carry on?**


	2. Sick again? Compromise!

**Okay, here is the second chapter. Enjoy and review! ;)**

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><p>Ziva was sitting on the couch in one of Tony's OSU shirts, and joggers, after taking a shower. "Sweet cheeks, want anything to eat? I'm gonna order a pizza."<p>

"I'll just share yours, I am not that hungry."

"Ok it should be here soon."

45 minutes later...

Tony had paid the delivery boy. He split the pizza into two on separate plates, and poured Ziva some white wine, whilst he had a beer. He was setting up the DVD, when she began firing questions.

"Do we have to watch one of your movies, Tony?"

"Aw come on Zi, it's the sound of music you love that."

"Fine but for an hour and then I'm going to bed."

"You're not gonna sit through the whole film? Can we have sex instead?"

"It's not like you to ask."

"Just being polite."

"Your pizza will be cold."

"Oh well."

"Hmm."

"What if I said, I just wanted you, right now."

"I'd say take me right here, right now." She whispered huskily. Tony grinned ominously, and grabbed Ziva's thighs, pulling her underneath him.

* * *

><p>It was six thirty when Tony awoke to the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. He stood, walking in the direction of his wife's puking. When he appeared, Ziva was hunched over the toilet, he bent down grabbing hold of her hair, and rubbed circles on her back.<p>

"Sweetheart, you alright?" After another minute of retching, she flushed the toilet and leant back into Tony's awaiting arms.

"Yes I am fine, now."

"Why don't we go lie down for a bit, then I'll call Gibbs and tell him you're not going in."

"Tony, I have to go in work." She tried getting up, but Tony pulled her back into him, before she had a chance.

"Hey I'm the husband; you gave me the right to care for you, when you married me. So I want you to stay home."

"Uh, I need to go to work." She tried to stand up again.

"Ziva please, just... Just stay home until we find out what's wrong or you get better."

"Tony-"

"For me. Please."

"Ok." She whispered.

Tony smiled. "Thank you." He kissed her quickly then helped her up, and exited the bathroom, proceeding to get dressed. Ziva soon followed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I want you to go to bed, and spend the day relaxing, understand?"

"Yes Boss." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"That's right, I am the Boss."

"We will see."

"Yes we will." Tony gave Ziva a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

><p>The day had gone by slowly; they still had no leads as to Cameron Beets whereabouts. It was now 5:30; Tony's desk phone rang, making him jump in his seat.<p>

"Special Agent DiNozzo."

"Hi."

"Hey." He relaxed again.

"I wanted to see how you were."

"I'm good. A little tired but..."

"What?"

"I just can't wait to go home."

"Huh. You will be home soon enough."

"That I will. I love you."

"I love you too Tony." He put the phone down, and looked up to meet Gibbs stern stare.

"Go home."

"Boss?"

"You wanna be with your wife, there's nothing left to do here. Go."

"Thanks Boss." Tony grabbed his things and ran to catch the elevator.

* * *

><p>Tony had speeded home; he felt he'd driven faster than Ziva, judging by the fact his stomach felt a little twisted and sick.<p>

"Ziva. I'm home." No reply. "Ziv-" He stopped dead in his tracks, when he drank in the sight before him.

"Hello Tony."

"Uhh hi."

"You like yes?"

Tony didn't trust his voice at this moment in time; so chose to nod instead. She was stood leaning in the hallway, one arm resting gracefully above her head. She was in matching black, lacy panties and bra, a dark blue, open cut silk dressing gown, resting loosely around her shoulders. Tony felt himself drooling, transfixed by his wife. He didn't even realise she was now pressed against him.

"I think you should close your mouth, you will catch bugs yes?"

"I'll catch flies, honey. Not bugs."

"Would you rather stand here and correct my English? Or have what I'm offering?"

Smiling, he encircled his arms around her waist; "You know what I want."

"Then take it." She replied huskily. Tony pushed his lips against Ziva's passionately, grabbing hold of her waist; they made their way down the hall, a trail of clothing slowly building up behind them...

Both were sweaty and panting heavily twenty minutes later, Tony tried to move off Ziva, but she dug her nails in his back, keeping him in place.

"I'll hurt you, if I stay like this."

"I don't care. I just need your weight on me." Tony kissed her again, and rested his head on her chest, listening to her increased heart rate carefully.

"You been ok today?"

"I was sick just after you left, but apart from that fine."

"Maybe we should get you checked out by the doctor. Just to be sure."

"Honey, I am fine. I do not need doctors, really."

"Compromise. If you're sick again tomorrow, we'll go to the doctors."

"I'll think about it."

"That's the best I'm gonna get outta ya isn't it?"

"Yes." Ziva kissed his forehead, and let him move off her, spooning her from behind. He gave a gentle squeeze, as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next few days the case had finally been solved, Ziva had returned to work after many arguments with both Tony and Gibbs; however she was still sick each morning. Reluctantly, she had finally agreed to go to the doctors.<p>

"What times your appointment?"

"In an hour."

"Want me to go with you?"

"One of us must stay here, Gibbs will not like us both leaving."

"Are you gonna be ok without me? I mean I know you can look after yourself, but I can't help worrying."

"I will be fine, I am going now. I will be back soon." Ziva stood up and pulled her coat on, she walked over to Tony's desk and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. See you when you get back."

Whilst Ziva was away, Gibbs kept Tony and McGee busy, trailing through suspects for an old cold case, they were currently working on.

"Gonna see Abby."

"But Boss, we're only working cold cases." McGee blurted out, without realising that there is no point in questioning their Boss.

Gibbs just gave him his usual stare, before walking off to the elevator.

"Why do you even bother asking or talking about it, McGoo?"

"Tony just-" McGee stopped, when Ziva entered the bullpen, with a particularly unhappy expression, plastered on her face.

"Tony I need to talk to you."

"Sweetcheeks you ok?"

"Just come with me."

"Ok."

When they entered the ladies room, he locked the door, giving them their privacy. "Was everything alright at the doctors?"

"No-Uh... Yes."

"You don't seem sure."

"I do not know how to feel about this."

He studied her expressions, trying to read further into what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Something has happened, and I do not know how to tell you."

"Well, are you sick!" Tony's voice was partially calm, but the frantic, panicked undertone was there, and Ziva could sense it.

"No, no. Nothing like that. It's..."

"Just tell me. You can trust me with anything."

"Ok. I-I'm uh..." She paused, trying to find the right words. He gathered her hands up in his, reassurance spread throughout his facial expressions.

"Is it what I'm thinking?"

"I'm pregnant." There was a slight awkward silence between them; she was giving Tony a chance to process the information. She was confused but relieved when his 100 watt grin appeared.

"You serious?"

"Yes." She frowned, still very confused. "You are smiling." It was a statement but Tony still answered her.

"I'm happy."

"Really?"

"I'm gonna be a father." He said with much enthusiasm.

She raised her head, "I thought you would be angry."

"Why would I be angry?"

"I just- I do not know."

"Sweetheart, we're having a baby. As far as I'm concerned, that's something to be thrilled about."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to be an Ima."

He smiled; "Yeah you are. We can do this, you know. It's us." He kissed her with so much passion; he felt their bodies melding together in the kiss.

"Gibbs will be wondering where we are, Tony." She whispered on his lips.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tried to lean in for another kiss. "Let him wonder." He smiled when he received another kiss.

"We have a bed at home to do this, later."

"What if I said, I couldn't wait that long?"

Chuckling she said "I'd say no sex til later, my little hairy butt."

"You're serious?" He couldn't keep the frown from forming.

"Deadly."

"Sweetcheeks." He whined.

"Do not Sweetcheeks me Tony. I said later. It is not like I'm denying you sex forever, just until we get home."

"I love it when you say home."

"Why?"

"Coz that means you consider 'our home' to be yours, it just makes me happy."

"Considering we are married I would expect us to live in the same house. You really are strange, you know."

"But you love me for it."

She kissed him, "That I do."

"Okay, Gibbs is gonna wonder where we are."

"That is what I said!"

* * *

><p><strong>What did you think of Tony's reaction? Too predictable in a fluff story? My iPhone is jammed full of this story. Reviews please.<strong>


	3. What about Tony and Ziva!

**I decided to throw a little Mcabby friendship in this chapter, hope you like it. I enjoyed writing it on my iPhone. :)**

* * *

><p>"Abby turned up nothing in the case. Gibbs said we could have a lunch break."<p>

"Gibbs never gives us a lunch break, unless we ask. Did you ask, McGee?"

"No Tony, I did not ask."

"Then something's wrong."

"I do not understand. Why does something have to be wrong, when Gibbs is nice?"

"Because Ziva, when Gibbs is being nice, something bad has or is about to happen. This isn't good McGee."

"I'm kinda not following you here Tony."

"Think about it McGoo! When has Gibbs actually been nice to us?"

"Well... Just after Kate died-"

"See! Exactly! That was a bad moment, and Gibbs was being pleasant."

"Seriously I do not understand you two. He probably, just wants us out of his head for a while."

"Outta his hair, not head."

"Whatever! Remember what I said before. I'll extend it from tonight."

"Sorry." Tony mumbled grumpily under his breath.

"As you should be."

"Are you guys going on a dinner break or not? I'm gonna see Abby."

"Yeah cool it McGoo, we're going."

Tony and Ziva had wandered half a mile away from the Navy Yard for lunch; they hadn't bothered with the car; they were sat in the cafe, two sandwiches and cups of coffee, resting on their table.

"So, when should we tell the team about this?"

"Maybe after we go to the doctors, for my next appointment. I shall consider it then."

Tony took a sip of his coffee, before blurting out a question. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What would you want? A boy or girl?"

"I do not know. I will be happy with either. What about you?"

"Well if we had a little girl, she'd be daddy's princess-"

"Oh would she now?"

"Yeah! And if it's a boy, he'd be our sporty little junior, running around."

"We are not calling our son, junior, junior. It is ridiculous."

"But what about the family name?"

"Our family name is DiNozzo. He will carry that through, just not the name Anthony."

"Can't he at least have Anthony as a middle name?"

"We will see. Anyway, I do not understand why we are discussing names now; there is plenty of time for that. And what if it was just a pregnancy scare, hmm? How would you feel then?"

"I'd feel... Upset, that we weren't having a kid. But... I may feel relived, because I don't know whether I'm ready to be a father. I don't want to turn out like Senior."

"You don't know that you won't."

"But I don't know that I will, either."

"Tony... This is real. It is happening now; and we will take it one day at a time. I understand it will not be easy- but we shall learn, day by day."

He gathered her hands up in his. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being the amazing wife you are."

She leant over and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I believe we have a team waiting for us, yes?"

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went by uneventfully; the cold case they were working on was still not solved. The entire team was exhausted; and more or less thrilled when they got the nod to go home. Tony and Ziva had been intensely staring at each other for a good two hours; they had been amazed, they'd held back for so long. Tony had unwillingly let her drive them home; but as lust was setting in again, he'd accepted her crazy driving, if it got them home fast enough...<p>

Tony and Ziva came through their front door; kissing aggressively, Tony's nails furiously digging into her waist, leaving marks imprinted. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt; pulling him that much closer. He pushed her against the nearest wall in response, their bodies slamming together tightly. Tony smirked when Ziva gave a pleasured groan.

Desperation set in, their hands tugging at each other's clothes, leaving a trail behind them, to the bedroom...

* * *

><p>"What's up with Tony and Ziva, McGee?"<p>

"I don't know, Abs. Should there be?"

"Come on McGee. Don't tell me you haven't noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"They're hiding something."

"Well I think they deserve their privacy Abby, married people keep things to themselves. They shouldn't have to tell you everything."

"But it's me McGee. I'm great at keeping secrets."

"I don't want to know what's going on with them. Besides Abby; I think they'd tell us when they're ready. Can't you wait?"

"No I can't McGee. Ziva and I used to tell each other everything; now we don't have our girl time."

"Abby, I'm sure you'll still have your girl time with Ziva. But leave them be, they'll tell us whatever it is, when they're ready. Please."

"Ok fine. But the minute they act suspicious I'm gonna start digging."

"What has made them appear suspicious?"

"All the secret meetings in the bathrooms-"

"They've always done that."

"Yeah but they've been doing it more than usual. They have been late to work a few days too."

"Abby, Tony's always late-"

"Yeah but not since he's been with Ziva. He goes running with her in the mornings now."

"DiNozzo running-" McGee smirked.

Abby punched him on his arm, "Don't pick on Tony. Besides there's two DiNozzo's now; you pick on, you pick on the other. Ziva would surely kick your ass; and Tony would torture you with names and pranks."

"Point taken Abs."

"So what about Tony and Ziva?" Abby whined.

"Abby, we've just been over this."

* * *

><p>"Now that was some good sex." Ziva managed to get out, between panting breaths.<p>

"Huh."

"What?"

"I'd expected more of a fantastic or mind-blowing sex comment from you."

Ziva rolled over, straddling his hips, and pushed causing some very rough friction. She felt his cock react almost immediately. "You'll get whatever comment I give you, honey." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. Tony remained silent. "What. No comeback?"

Fidgeting, he moved Ziva up a little, easing the friction. "You know when you do things like that, I find it hard to concentrate."

"That... Is the reason I do it."

"Sweet cheeks, your more of a minx than I thought."

Smiling, she looked down at him, "You would have me no other way."

"I wouldn't change you for the world. I love you too much."

She bent down, their lips millimetres apart. "I love you too." She whispered, before capturing his lips softly with her own.

Pulling apart, Tony began caressing her back and shoulders with his hands. "When's your next doctor's appointment?"

"In five weeks time, why?"

"Just wanted to know, are you excited about this?"

She looked deeply in his eyes, trying to understand what he meant. "Where has that come from?"

"Call it curiosity. And a husband wanting to know, how his wife feels."

"Honestly, I never saw myself as a mother. I did not think I would live long enough to experience motherhood, or marriage."

"What about now?"

"I feel... scared, about having something so small and vulnerable to care for, it is terrifying."

Tony nodded, "I understand, it's not something I thought would happen to me. But... I don't know."

"It is too difficult to describe, yes?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should tell the team tomorrow."

"Was that a question?"

"More of a kind demand."

"Why are you so insistent on telling them this?"

"Why are you insistent on not telling them?" He turned the question round on her; he felt they had switched roles, rather quickly.

"I do not want to be fussed over, by everyone."

"They're our family. They have a right to know, regardless of our feelings."

"This coming from the man, who wanted to hide our sexual relationship, for six months."

"Ziva! They have a right to know."

"That is true, but they will know when I decide the time is right. Not before."

"They will figure it out you know. How are you gonna cover morning sickness? The bump? The weird cravings?"

"Tony I can cover the morning sickness, everything else comes much later, the team will know by then. I am not going to hide it for months, just for a while."

"Ok, I think I need some sleep now. You've worn me out sweet heart."

"Because I am that good, yes?"

She looked down, and saw that he was snoring lightly, she laughed gently, and moved off him, curling into his side, succumbing to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Reviews? Love to hear your comments. It's now half 12 in the morning here; I'm watching CSI season 1 re-runs on Sky Living. So I will try and have chapter 4 up, maybe around 12/13 hours from now, if I'm awake. Hopefully, I'll have chapter 5 up too, before the weekend is out, then I'm going on a break.**


	4. Your dysfunctional family, love you so

**Here is another chapter, as promised. I apologise now for skipping ahead in the story, that will be happening quite a bit.**

* * *

><p>Another two weeks had passed, and the MCRT worked several open and shut cases. Today was one of those days; and last night Tony had finally persuaded Ziva to tell the team about their pregnancy.<p>

A PM message popped up on her screen.

_DiNozzoMan: You called Abby yet?_

_ZivaD: Have you seen me call her, yet?_

_DiNozzoMan: No. I was just asking._

_ZivaD: I know. But it was a daft question. Anyway, I do not think Ducky is in yet._

_DiNozzoMan: He is in, I checked. Stop trying to avoid doing this. We agreed._

_ZivaD: Fine, I will call Abby._

Fifteen minutes later, every member of the team was gathered in the bullpen. (Apart from Vance of course.)

"Guys what's going on? Why was I called up from my lab? Are you gonna tell us what's wrong?"

"Abby. Abby. Yes we are going to tell you all something-"

"Well get to it. Madam DiNozzo."

"Something happened; and uh-"

"Why what happened-"

"Abs. Give them time."

"Ziva and I, have had some long talks about this thing; and we didn't want to say anything right away, but-"

He tentatively rubbed Ziva's shoulders. "We are pregnant." She jumped slightly backwards into Tony's arms, when Abby squealed and ran towards them. Both received a tight Abby hug; "Abby, the baby needs to breathe."

She stepped back from them, "I'm sorry. When did this happen? How long have you known? Is it a boy or girl?"

"Abby we have known for about three weeks now; and we think it happened a month ago. So we do not know the sex of the baby yet."

"Congratulations, DiNozzo's." Gibbs shook Tony's hand, and kissed Ziva's cheek.

They thanked him in unison.

Both McGee and Palmer offered their congratulations, before returning to work. Ducky stepped forward and gave them both a hug. "I think it is wonderful you two are bringing a new life to this world. It reminds me of the time my young English cousin, gave birth to her son. It was a splendid moment-"

"Duck. Work."

"My apologies Jethro. Perhaps another time for the story my dears."

"Thank you Ducky."

"I can't believe we'll have the first NCIS baby! I have so much planning to do-"

"Abs, leave the planning to them. It's their baby. They'll decide when they want you involved."

Ziva placed her hand on Abby's arm, "You will be our child's exciting Aunt Abby. You can be involved."

"Just leave the planning for the baby to us. You can buy cool clothes for them, and stuff." Tony jumped in, trying to explain what she could do.

"Ok. Can I still help with the nursery and stuff?"

"We'll see."

"Abs, to the lab. Got work to do."

"Yes Bossman!" Saluting him, she walked off towards the elevator.

Throughout the day, Tony and Ziva's minds were pre-occupied with the baby. Even though they had known longer; work seemed irrelevant to them.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Ziva and Tony were lay in bed; he had lifted her shirt up, exposing her flat stomach.<p>

"Sshh." He placed his hand on her lower abdomen and began talking. "Hi baby. I'm your daddy. Your mommy here, thinks' I'm strange for doing this, but she'll join in. Say hi mommy." He looked up at her expectantly.

"Hello baby."

He smiled at her, and then returned to her stomach. "I think she's still a little awkward; but she's the most amazing person you'll ever meet. If you're anything like her, I'd be luckier than I am now."

Ziva's eyes began to well up; Tony sensed this, turned around and gave her a soft kiss.

"Thank you for saying those things."

"Well it's all true."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too. And our beautiful baby in here." Tony gestured, by stroking her stomach. He placed his head back against her stomach.

"Hey squirt. I don't think you realise how loved and spoiled your gonna be, by your dysfunctional family."

Ziva weaved her hand through his hair, stroking his head lovingly.

"You have the weirdest, most dysfunctional but loving family, anyone could ask for. There's Grandpa Gibbs; he'll protect you just as much as us. Then there's Grandpa Ducky; you'll hear the most amazing but long stories from him. Aunt Abby; she's a little crazy but you'll love her. She's a Goth, but she's the happiest most hyperactive person, your mom and I know. Oh and Uncle McGee; he's a bit of a geek. But hey, you'll get used to him, he'll be awkward around you for a while, he's uh- shy. Vance is just Vance, and Palmer is very socially awkward around your mom and I. So yeah, there's your family."

"Tony."

"Yeah?"

"You are forgetting two people."

"Us?"

"Yes."

"Squirt listen up. Your mom isn't from around here. She's from a place called Israel. That place is far away from here, but I'm sure we'll visit with you at some point. Your mom is a ninja by the way. She's tougher than me, she's beautiful and she speaks lots of different languages too. I've always found her intriguing; hopefully you'll be just the same. Now me. I'm half Italian, American; this makes you an Italian, Israeli American. I hope you like movies, because I love my movies; your mom thinks it's annoying how I equate our lives to movies, but I know it's something she secretly loves about me. Uh- I adore my mustang, that's a car; it comes in a close second to you and mommy. I have lots of expensive suits, but something tells me our money will be spent on you. I love playing pranks; not on your mom as she'll kick my ass. That's it really."

"I did not realise, you had that much to say Tony."

He came back up to the top of the bed, and held Ziva in his arms. "When you start it's hard to stop."

"I noticed. I am tired."

"Well we have to be up in seven hours. May as well sleep. I love you both." He placed a kiss on her lips.

She whispered, "We love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this is my shortest chapter, everything I wrote after this, needed to be in a seperate chapter. So, just seen Swan Song on FX in the UK on friday, that TIVA scene just lifted my spirits, I was seriously hoping for a kiss, anybody else see Ziva lean close to Tony? Omnomnom :) Reviews, muchly appreciated.<strong>


	5. Everything would be confidential, right?

**And the next chapter is up, baby! :)**

* * *

><p>Tony and Ziva were sitting in the waiting room; they had gone for Ziva's first check-up.<p>

"Tony, stop fidgeting." He was playing with his hands, and consistently shaking his leg up and down in anticipation.

"Can't help it, nervous."

"Take my hand." He complied; it seemed to calm his nerves, until they were called out.

"Ziva DiNozzo." They both stood in unison, still holding each other's hands.

"You ready?"

She nodded; "Yes."

"Are you?" She turned the question on him; she knew he was still nervous, but he appeared calmer now, than he was beforehand.

"Yep. Let's do this."

They stepped into the doctor's room. "Hi there. I'm Doctor Holly Johnson."

"I'm Ziva DiNozzo. This is my husband Tony." They both shook the doctor's hand.

"It's lovely to meet you both. Now Ziva, pop on here for me." She obliged. "How far along are you?"

"About a month now."

"Most women don't have a check-up til 10 weeks. Is there something you're worried about?"

"No, well uh- my morning sickness has been particularly bad. I have been throwing up more often, than most. We wanted to know if there was a problem." Tony stood by her right side, connecting their hands softly.

"Ok, I'll run a scan, see what I can find." Doctor Johnson instructed Ziva to lay back and lift her shirt. She then placed some blue gel on her stomach, and began moving the wand around. "Everything seems fine. The problem might be your body adjusting to the pregnancy; it's nothing to worry about."

They both released a breath; they didn't know they were holding. Tony was the one to speak.

"Thanks Doc."

"Has your body suffered any severe trauma, lately?"

That question had caught them both off guard; Ziva could barely open her mouth, let alone form words. "How recent we talking?"

"Between a year to two years ago." Tony and Ziva shared a worried glance. "Something you want to share?"

"A year and a half ago, Ziva was captured in a camp. She suffered extensive bodily harm; it's not something either of us, want to relive, Doc."

The Doctor nodded sympathetically. "Ok. Would you mind if I accessed your health records? I want to get a more professionalized opinion; and keep a closer eye on you, during your pregnancy."

Ziva at last managed to form some words, after a lengthy silence. "You would keep everything you see confidential?"

"Absolutely. Everything I read will be kept in the strictest confidence. You can count on that."

"I have been through a lot of torture in my life Dr. Johnson; is there any chance this pregnancy will reach full term?"

"That depends on the method of torture you're talking about. Even if this happened, a year ago or more; there is a slight chance, you may not make it full term." She felt Tony's grip on her hand tighten, when the Doctor said those words.

Ziva remained silent again, struggling to apprehend what the Doctor had said, _'There is a chance, you may not make it full term.' _She could lose her baby at any time. That is something that terrified her. Little did she know, Tony was having the same thoughts.

"Is there anything we can do to improve our chances?"

"Right now, Mr DiNozzo, I honestly couldn't say. But I'll monitor Ziva much more closely."

"Ok, thanks."

"I shall see you both on the 10th week of your pregnancy. I'm going to give you a prescription Ziva, for your vitamins to take until the baby is born also. You can collect these from any pharmacy."

"Thank you. Have you got a towel to clear this gel thing?"

"Yes. Here." She passed her a paper towel; and Ziva wiped her stomach clean; pulled her shirt back down, and threw the towel in the trash.

"Thank you Doctor Johnson. We will see you soon."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>During the car ride back to the Navy Yard, Tony and Ziva had agreed to keep the pregnancy term worries to themselves; they believed there was no need to frighten their colleagues with something that may end up not true. He had dropped Ziva off; and she headed down to the lab, straight away, knowing Abby would be the first person to demand to know what happened.<p>

"How did it go? Was everything alright? What about the baby? Did you get a picture?"

"Abby! We're fine. Everything is good, the baby is alright; and no, it is too early for pictures."

"I'm glad everything is ok. Where's Tony?"

"He had something to do. He will be back shortly."

"Where did he go?"

"I do not know. He claims it is a surprise. So he says."

Thirty minutes later, up in the squadroom, Ziva had returned from Abby's lab, and was trailing through phone records, when Tony strolled in.

"Hey Sweetcheeks. Probie."

"Hi. Where have you been?"

"Nowhere special. Just picked something up."

"Going to tell me what it is?"

"Nope."

She nodded in acceptance; "It took you a long time."

"Trying to find the right thing."

"Well Ducky wants us in Autopsy DiNozzo's, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Ah Jethro. Anthony. Ziva. What brings you all down here?"<p>

"The body. Duck."

"Of course. Our Jane Doe. She suffered multiple contusions along the chest cavity and neck."

"Strangulation."

"Correct Jethro. The sides of her neck have deep, thick fingerprint markings." Gibbs leant over the body, observing the part of the neck, that Ducky had a hold of.

Tony jumped when Ziva shot past him, clutching her mouth and stomach. He looked towards his boss. He nodded. "Go." Tony got as far as outside autopsy, when he noticed her retching heavily. He placed a soothing hand on her back; trying to relax her as much as he could. After five minutes or so; he wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her close to him.

"I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?"

She turned her, resting against his chest; "I will be, once this sickness stops."

"It will, in two months time. Just gotta work through it for now." He kissed her forehead.

"It was that awful smell in there, it just made me..."

"I know. You don't have to go in there. I don't want you getting sick unnecessarily."

She sighed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Their lips connected, providing comfort for the other.

"Ziver!"

"Show time." Tony whispered on her lips. He stood up, then pulled her up slowly, careful not to upset her fragile stomach.

"You alright?"

She nodded politely; "Just part of the pregnancy, correct?"

* * *

><p><strong>I am returning to college on monday, after a week off, and have crazy coursework deadlines to meet, so I will be taking a break. Promise to update as much as I can, when I return though. Reviews?<strong>


	6. That's not like her

**Okay, so college hasn't been that bad this week. So I've managed another chapter. :) So here's the next chapter. Thanks for everyone's reviews, been so wonderful.**

* * *

><p><em>Three months pregnant: May 12<em>_th__ 2011._

"Honey hurry up; we're gonna be late again."

"I am here. It takes a pregnant woman longer to get dressed you know! It's harder with this bump."

"You look gorgeous in anything."

"Trying to score?"

"Nope. Just complimenting my wife."

"Well, we have work to go to. Abby is desperate for those pictures, we got yesterday."

"Then let's go."

* * *

><p>Ziva went down to Abby's lab with the pictures, while Tony took their bags to the bullpen.<p>

"Hello Abby."

"Zivaaa! Where are they?"

"They are here." Passing over the sonograms, Ziva took a step back creating some space.

"Aww. It's amazing. Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

"We do not know. It is still too early to tell. We are not sure if we want to know."

"But why? It can make shopping for stuff, much easier."

"Tony and I have discussed it a little, and we think we want to be surprised. It is just like the time when-"

"Time when what?"

"Just when we were undercover as those married assassins, years ago. It just reminded me of now; before you ask Abby, you already know the details, it was when we were taken hostage."

"Ok, yeah I remember that. Can I keep these pictures?"

"Abby, these are the only ones we have. I will make some copies for you though."

"Yeah, great. Hey, do you fancy a girls night on Saturday?"

"I am sorry but... Tony is taking me on our date night. It is usually Friday, but we changed it to Saturday for this week." She winced, when she saw Abby's face drop in disappointment.

"Oh."

"I can do next Saturday. If you want?"

"I'm going to a Brain Matter concert, next week."

"Well let me know when something opens up; and I am all yours." Ziva's cell rang. She pulled it out, answering without checking the ID. "Hello Tony."

"_Hey. Gibbs said we gotta case, you can come to this one."_

"Ok, I'm on my way." She clicked her phone shut. "Abby, I have to go."

"I'll see you later." Ziva nodded, and headed out the lab. When she arrived in the bullpen, her team members were ready and waiting.

"You got her bag DiNozzo?"

"Yeah boss. She's here anyway." Ziva took her bag, and followed the team.

* * *

><p>Merely a few minutes into arriving at the crime scene; Ziva had threw up. Tony had stood by her side, and Ducky gave her some water, to clear her mouth and throat.<p>

"Eurgh, I am beginning to enjoy this pregnancy less, because of this."

"Your bump is showing more now. It makes you look beautiful."

"Your glow is shining my dear." Ducky's compliment had clearly confused her; it took her a matter of seconds to raise the question to Tony.

"What's a glow, Tony?"

"A glow is, it's something that people say about pregnant women."

"Oh, ok."

"Is anyone gonna get some work done!" Gibbs barked, his annoyance rising at half his team, not doing any work.

"My apologies Jethro. Ziva may need to rest; her senses are heightened this morning, by the crime scene. I wouldn't advise her to be working at this moment in time."

"Hey! I am still here."

"Ziva. Go wait by the truck, til you feel better."

"But Gibbs, I feel better now-"

"That's an order. Go!"

Ziva left with a huff, and walked towards the charger. Tony took a step in her direction, but was abruptly stopped by Gibbs. "DiNozzo! You can talk to your wife later. Do some work first."

He reluctantly turned away from her, and wandered towards the crime scene, joining McGee. Whispering 'Yes Boss.', as he went.

Ducky was already by the body, pulling the liver temp probe outwards, he moved upwards, allowing Tony to photograph the body. Gibbs came strolling over.

"Duck, whatcha got?"

"The victim died of a gunshot to the head. I'd suggest a sniper, Jethro. There is no visible signs of gunshot residue around the wound. He also has abrasion marks on his wrist. Whoever did this Jethro, knows no boundaries."

"TOD?"

"2am. Around six hours ago."

"Thanks Duck."

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

"Hi."

"You feeling any better?"

"Yes. You should know it only comes in the mornings, and when I don't like certain smells."

"Right."

"Have you finished processing the crime scene?"

"McGee and DiNozzo are just bagging evidence, won't take long."

"I am sorry for getting angry before Gibbs. It is the hormones, yes?"

"I don't accept apologies."

"Well I am giving you one, so take it."

There was a minute of silence between them, before Gibbs raised another question. "You nervous about it?"

"A little, yes. I am not sure, whether I'll be a good mother."

"That a question or statement?"

"Statement."

"You'll be a good mom, and DiNozzo will be a good dad too. You'll learn, both of ya."

Admiring Tony she spoke, "Yes, yes he will."

* * *

><p>It was 9:30, when they got home, Ziva was exhausted and needed some sleep, Tony had been complaining he was hungry, on the ride home. They had dropped their coats and bags in the kitchen, before Tony raised the question, he'd had on his mind nearly all day.<p>

"What were you and Gibbs talking about today?"

"We just talked."

"Anything I should be worried about?"

"Not at all." She gave him a peck on the lips.

"Ok... Abby's been a bit short with me, any reason why?"

Ziva stood silent, her body tensing up; "Ziva!"

"I think she is feeling pushed out, by me."

"How? I'm not following."

"When I went to show her the sonogram pictures; she was happy at first. But, when I said I could not do a girls night, she went quiet."

"Quiet? That's not like Abby."

"Exactly."

"What caused her to go quiet?"

"I said that you had arranged our date night for Saturday, she looked unhappy."

"When was the last time, you two spent a girls night together?"

"Uh... Three months before you and I married." She raised her eyebrow at Tony's shocked expression. "What?"

"Ziva, that's fifteen months ago! No wonder she misses you."

"Tony, what do you suggest I do? Cancel our date night? Is that what you want?"

"You know that's not, what I want."

"Then, what do you want?"

"I want you to be happy."

"And I am. When I am with you. I love you, Tony."

"I love you too. Look, I know you've never really liked 'girl time', but it's important to Abby. She needs her Ziva time, just as much as I do. We can do our date night on Friday instead; Abby loves spending time with you. Spend Saturday afternoon and evening with her; and if you still want to come home, that's fine by me."

She sighed in defeat, and moved to pick up the phone. "I will call Abby, and let her know the arrangements."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter six done! Reviews welcomed :) I promise to try and update this story as regularly as possible.<strong>


	7. That was our 'friends date'

**Okayy, the next chapter is up and running people. Took me a while to write this, anybody know a good way to overcome writers block? Apart from McGee's type-writing and shredding? :S**

* * *

><p>"Zivaaa! Have you got everything for Saturday?"<p>

"I have everything I will need, yes."

"What about your-"

"Abs. To the lab."

"But Gibbs, we need-"

"Abs." His voice, was slightly more stern. Abby gave a dramatic sigh, and turned towards Gibbs.

"I'm going Bossman. Later Ziva, Tony."

"Bye Abby." "See ya, Abs."

They both signed into PM, and began sending messages.

_DiNozzoMan: 'I told you she'd be happy.'_

_ZivaD: 'Yes. Congratulations, Tony, you stated the obvious.'_

_DiNozzoMan: 'Hey now, play nice if you want that date night tonight. I want you to dress nice.'_

_ZivaD: 'Where are we going?'_

_DiNozzoMan: 'Somewhere special, for my special lady.'_

_ZivaD: 'Clever boy. Is there something you're expecting afterwards?'_

_DiNozzoMan: 'Well seeing as you asked, maybe I'd like something, if you're willing to participate?'_

_ZivaD: 'Really? Hmm... If you are a good boy.'_

_DiNozzoMan: 'I thought you liked a bad boy?'_

_ZivaD: 'I did. But then I married you. '_

_DiNozzoMan: 'I'm hurt. Your poor husband is in pain.'_

_ZivaD: 'Stop being such a big baby. We have work to do, before we go home.'_

ZivaD has logged out. Tony pouted when that had appeared on his screen.

"Hey! DiNozzo's! Stop playing grab ass. That's what your homes' for."

"Sorry Boss." "Sorry Gibbs."

* * *

><p>After a long grilling day at work, with a mardy Gibbs over their shoulders, Tony and Ziva were free to go home, and prepare for their date. Tony had gone for a simple black, cashmere suit, a white shirt and red silk tie. Ziva had requested the tie colour, he had guessed this was because, her dress would be the same colour. He checked himself over in the mirror one more time, before shouting out to his wife.<p>

"Hey you nearly ready, Sweetcheeks?"

"I am here."

Tony turned in her direction, and froze, a lump forming in his throat. There stood Ziva; in a long, silk red dress, hugging her curves in every way. The distinctive lining of her baby bump, now more visible. She had a loose matching red wrap, around her shoulders.

"I did good, yes?"

Regaining his composure, he took a step forward; "Heh. Yeah. You look amazing."

"Thank you. Do not look bad yourself."

"I'm seriously considering skipping those reservations, and just taking you upstairs." He ogled every visible part of her body, his hands twitching slightly in their place, wanting to reach out and touch her, feel her smooth, softening skin under his hands.

"Well, I do not want to miss this 'special place'; and if you suffer because you want me now, I will enjoy it even more."

"Heh. Ok then, let's go."

* * *

><p>Ziva was shocked when he pulled up at Valentino's; she remembered coming here years ago, trying to cheer him up, after he broke up with his girlfriend at the time. Just before they had officially started dating, Tony had brought her here, as a 'friends date' he called it. He loved Valentino's; it gave him and Ziva the little push they needed, to move their relationship forward.<p>

All evening, Tony was a gentleman to her, they talked and laughed over memories and conversations of their past, whilst they had dinner.

It was around 9:30, when they payed and left. It had taken them twenty minutes, to walk through the crisp DC, night air. They were walking up the driveway to their home, when Ziva spoke up.

"That was a beautiful restaurant Tony. I cannot believe you chose that place, it is where we had our first date."

"That's why I chose it. It's special to both of us...Do you remember what happened that night?"

"You don't?" A teasing smirked, tugged her lips.

"Of course I do. I'd finally convinced you to go on a date with me. Although, it was a 'friends date'; you kept asking me, why Abby and McGeek weren't there. I said I wanted it to be us two. We came here, the service was a little bad that night; we'd made jokes about it through the date though. It was pouring down outside, my car broke down, so we walked back to mine. We were soaking, and stood outside my door; I brushed a hair out of your face, and then we kissed..."

"... And it was like we were the only two people in the world." Ziva said, finishing his sentence, as if they'd said it thousands of times before.

"Yeah."

When they arrived at their front door, Ziva turned into him; "Well, thank you, for a wonderful evening."

"You're welcome."

"Now, I remember, there was something else you wanted, hmm?" She purred, pushing her body flush against his; she kissed him, gently tugging on his bottom lip.

"Heh. There might be." He whispered on her lips, encircling her waist, pulling her that much closer.

"We should take this inside Tony. I do not want to give the neighbours a show."

"I wouldn't mind." She knew he was teasing, but she still stood her ground.

"Inside. Now!" She kissed him again, whilst fumbling with the keys, unlocking the door.

* * *

><p>It was 8:30 when Tony woke up; Ziva was still sleeping comfortably in his arms, she started stirring when he tightened his hold on her. "Hey." He pulled her closer, and began stroking her hair.<p>

"Good morning. Why are you smiling like that?"

"You haven't been sick this morning."

"Well, I have only just woken up."

"Yeah, but your usually sick at 3 or 4:30. And last night you weren't."

"You are right. I think I am coming out of my first trimester. That is why the sickness has stopped."

"Yeah." He rested his hand on her stomach, stroking slowly. "What do you want to do today?"

"Tony, I think you are forgetting that we have an appointment, with Dr. Johnson this morning."

"Right, I forgot."

"I gathered. Come on, we must get dressed." He groaned, and begrudgingly got dressed.

By 10am they had arrived at the Doctors office; they had just been called in. Dr. Johnson was putting rubber gloves on.

"Hey Ziva, Tony. How you been?"

"Been good Doc, thanks."

"My morning sickness has stopped."

"That's good news. That's always the toughest part of pregnancy, apart from labour and birth of course. Ok, wanna take a seat for me?"

Ziva nodded, and lay herself down. Tony took her right hand.

"Alright Ziva, been taking your vitamins?"

"Yes I have."

"Any discomfort? Mild? Severe?"

"Mild, yes. When I am lay down; it has been painful a fair few times."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ziva turned in his direction.

"I did not want to worry you."

"Of course I would have worried."

"Would you like me to give you two a moment?"

"No." "Yes." They said in unison.

"I'll just be through there." Dr. Johnson stepped out of the room.

"Why didn't you let me know, you were in pain?" His tone was a lot softer.

"I could handle it, on my own."

"Look, Ziva. I know you're not weak; and you can take care of yourself, but-I'm your husband, let me share that responsibility with you."

"I am sorry. I never knew you felt so strongly about this..."

"Yeah I do. The day we married, I vowed to protect you, more so than I'd ever done in my life before."

"Ok. I promise you, I will tell you everything that happens."

"Thank you." She lifted their intertwined hands, and stroked his cheek lovingly, with her fingers. His eyes closed, as he leaned into her touch.

"Dr. Johnson you may come in now." Ziva shouted towards the door, the Doctors had exited minutes before.

"Everything sorted?"

"Yes, everything is fine now."

"Great. Well Ziva you know the drill." She lifted her shirt up; exposing her small, but defined stomach, she flinched when the cold gel was placed on her tummy.

"Well, everything looks really, really good. Oh my goodness..."

"Doc? Everything alright with the baby? What's going on?"

"A little surprise, by the looks of things." Tony and Ziva waited in silence, worrying over what the Doctor meant.

"Dr. Johnson? Is my baby alright?" There was a frantic undertone in Ziva's voice, the Doctor had yet to answer...

* * *

><p><strong>There's a little twist for you, but I think what I wrote is clearly obvious to NCIS readers. Reviews are very much welcomed. :)<strong>


	8. There is a partial match to you

**Chapter 8 is up. I know I made it kinda obvious in the last chapter, what the twist would be, but here it is. In black and white. :) Towards the end of this chapter, it gets a little angsty.**

* * *

><p>"I think another set of congratulations are in order, for the both of you."<p>

"Why?" Both Ziva and Tony were clearly confused by the statement.

"You're having twins."

Tony's mouth dropped open, Ziva turned around, staring at him. "Tony, you will catch bugs." She said, closing his mouth with her free hand.

"Flies Ziva. I'll catch flies."

"You are sure it is twins, Doctor Johnson?"

"Judging by this sonogram Ziva, I'd bet my career on it. Look here, both of you. On the left is the first baby, and behind it there, is the second baby. Your second child must have been hidden behind the first. Decided to come in sight now. I think they'll be fraternal."

"What does that mean?"

"That means the twins are non-identical."

"Can we tell if they're boys or girls yet, Doc?"

"I'm afraid it's too early to tell. But I can say that both babies are perfectly healthy." Nor Tony, or Ziva could keep the huge grins from their faces, another child. _Two mini ninjas_, Tony thought.

* * *

><p>It took them a half hour to get back to the Navy Yard; allowing themselves a bit of alone time to let the news sink in. They had both agreed that just spitting it out, and getting out in the open as fast as possible was the best thing to do. Only Gibbs and McGee were in the bullpen.<p>

"Hey guys."

"DiNozzo. Ziva."

"Uh McGee, Gibbs, we would like to tell you something."

"Ziver, spit it out."

"The doctor confirmed something, what we were told before was incorrect."

"Which was?" McGee moved from his desk, and stood in front of the plasma.

"That we were having a baby."

"Yeah DiNozzo we got that, what is it your trying to tell us?"

"That we are having babies not a baby."

"Twins?"

"Yeah McGoo twins!"

"Two DiNozzo's running around the place?"

"Yes Gibbs. Two children. We do not know the sex, but the doctor confirmed them both as healthy."

"I'm happy for ya both." Tony and Ziva nodded towards their boss, then sat down at their respective desks.

"Close your mouth Elf Lord."

* * *

><p>"Hello Abby."<p>

"Hey Ziva. I really enjoyed girl's night on Saturday with you."

"Me too. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm not having a baby."

Abby's face dropped three inches; the pure shock and pain written across her facial features. "You're getting an abortion!"

Ziva sent her a reassuring smile; "No, no, no. Abby, nothing like that. Tony and I are... are having twins."

Abby squealed in delight, hugging Ziva tightly. "Oh my god! Ziva that's fantastic. What about the sex?"

"We do not know yet. My doctor told us that, the twins will be fraternal?"

"Non-identical twins. Aww cute!"

Ziva pulled out the sonograms from her pocket; "Here are your copies of the sonograms. Oh and one more thing?"

"Sure."

"Tony and I are unsure of toys to get for the babies; so could you get some unisex toys? That is right, yes?"

"Yeah that's right, and sure. I'll gather some things up for the baby shower. What about clothes?"

"Maybe you could get some neutral coloured clothes, then."

"Oh my gosh, I'm right on it. I'll get the twins matching NCIS mini crime scene outfits, they'll look amazing."

"Ok Abby, I'm going to go. Gibbs will be wondering where I am."

"You got that right, Agent DiNozzo. Up to the bullpen."

"Yes Gibbs." Ziva waddled off towards the elevator; Gibbs waited til she left before speaking to Abby.

"Whatcha got Abs?"

"You're not gonna like this. I ran the blood work through tox, and I got a match. It's a seven link match to Ziva."

"A relative?"

"Yeah." Abby moved over to her computer, and clicked a few keys, before a picture, of a young olive skin- toned girl appeared on the screen. "It's Ziva's sister. Talia David."

"She's been dead for over 20 years Abs. It can't be her blood. How is this possible?"

"I don't know Gibbs; but I think someone is out to get Ziva. Or at least get her attention."

"Well they've got mine!"

* * *

><p>"How did Abby take it?"<p>

"She seemed happy. She wants to get two matching NCIS outfits for them."

"That sounds like Abby."

"Ziver! A word. Now!" She immediately followed him; to the secluded area near the stairs.

"Gibbs what is going on?"

"I'm putting you in agency protection."

"But why?"

"The body downstairs has a trace of blood, that's a seven link match to you."

"I do not understand."

"Abby traced some blood found in the victim's body. It's a match to Tali David."

She sighed a shaky breath before continuing; "She is dead Gibbs. It is impossible."

"However impossible it is; you're still being put under protection."

"Gibbs this is absurd. I feel protected in my home, with my husband by my side."

"Ziva! There may be someone out to get you."

"I want my husband."

"Ziva."

"Now!"

Gibbs walked away; knowing there was nothing more he could say, he left her stood alone. Back in the bullpen, the outburst had been heard, causing Tony to pace vigorously.

"DiNozzo!"

"Boss?"

"Go."

Tony sprinted out of the bullpen, following the trail in which would lead him to his wife.

When he arrived, Ziva looked confused, angry and hurt; she smiled weakly when she saw him, almost instantly falling into his slightly open arms. "Tony." She breathed, stepping into his embrace, the minute he came within spitting distance of her.

"What's wrong?" He stroked her hair tenderly.

"Gibbs thinks someone is out to get me." She mumbled into his neck, tightening her hold on his waist.

"Why would he think that?"

"Some of the blood in the victim is a match to me."

"But how is that ev-"

"It is Tali's." She stepped back a little, wanting to see his reaction.

"But uh- she died when she was a teenager, I remember you telling me."

"That much is true. I held her in my arms, as she died." Tears began forming in her eyes, Tony tightened his hold on her further, wanting to comfort her. "I do not understand myself, how her blood is in our victim. Gibbs told me, he wants me in agency protection."

"You said no didn't you?" It was a rhetorical question on his part, he already knew the answer.

"Yes."

"But Ziva-"

"No Tony. I feel safe in our home, with you and our babies." Before he could muster a response, she continued. "I realize with this job, we must keep looking over our shoulders. But, I do not want to do that, in my own home. Please Tony, do as I ask. I want your protection, just yours."

He reluctantly relented, and agreed; "Ok. But the minute something bad happens-"

"I know."

The rest of the day had been uncomfortable for both Ziva and Tony. Gibbs was still struggling to convince Ziva about the protection, and had ordered Tony to try once they got home. He had accepted the orders, but didn't follow through on them, knowing his wife would only shut down, or convince him it wasn't necessary. It was 8:30 when Tony got back home; he had been out to the store, leaving Ziva at home.

When he got in, he called her name, and got no response; he locked the door, and placed the grocery bags and his coat on the kitchen table, before going in search of his wife. He found her, curled on the bed, his warning bells instantly went off.

"Ziva? Have you been crying?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me. What got you so upset?"

"I think it is my father, trying to contact me." She whispered, incoherently, secretly hoping he wouldn't hear.

"Why would he contact you by killing someone, and injecting Tali's blood into them?"

"Because he knows the e-mails and phone calls are not working. He wants me back in Mossad, I know it."

"He's not taking you away from me. You're married, an agent and American citizen, there's no way." He sat down next to her on the bed.

"Tony you know my father, he will stop at nothing to get me back. I do not want to go back."

"I'm not gonna let him." She sat up, looking into his eyes, desperate for some consolidation.

"I love you, Tony."

"I love you too." Ziva then pushed her lips forcefully onto his, passionately kissing him, as if her life depended on it. Locking her hands tightly around his neck, scared if she let go, he would pull back or disappear. Her fears were confirmed when he did lightly push on her chest, creating a separation between them.

"Ziva, this is wrong."

"What is wrong about a husband and wife having sex?"

"You're upset. It feels like I'm taking advantage."

"Tony, I am offering myself that is not taking advantage. I need this."

"Ziva!" He warned.

"I need this to happen. I need us... Please."

He sighed, eventually agreeing with her. "Ok... Ok." He pulled her back, kissing her, giving her the distraction, she so clearly desired right now.

Outside in the street, a dark figure could be seen, staring relentlessly at the window above. "Soon Zivaleh, I will take you away from this country. You will return to our beloved Israel. Our children will be raised the right way."

* * *

><p><strong>There we go. I warned it was a little angsty, but I'm not 100% if that was good enough, been having writers block for a while. The review button is calling your names. :) Thanks.<strong>


	9. Tony's not liking this one!

**Chapter nine. More angsty than the last chapter.**

**Tiva equals Mr. and Mrs. Smith: The mystery man has some links to Saleem, however is not a relative to him. Thank you for the wonderful review.**

* * *

><p>"Good morning McGee."<p>

"Good morning Ziva. Tony."

"McTim."

Where's Gibbs?" Both agents sat down at their desks, switching their computers on.

"Up in MTAC with the director."

"Do you know what's going on?" Before McGee could answer his colleague's question, Gibbs appeared on the balcony.

"DiNozzo's!" Both Ziva and Tony stood at the mention of their name. "With me."

They obeyed, leaving behind their team mate in the bullpen, making their way up to MTAC. When they arrived in there; Gibbs and Vance were stood in front of the screen, a picture of Eli David plastered across.

Ziva sighed a shaky breath, and sought out her husband's hand, when she did, she grabbed onto it, like her life depended on it. Tony squeezed her hand in reassurance, telling her everything would be alright, he was here for her.

"What do you want!" Tony hissed towards the screen.

"Nice to see you too, Agent DiNozzo. But I wish to speak to my daughter in private."

"No chance! Wherever she goes, I go. We're sorta a package deal."

Eli merely ignored him, and shifted his focus to Ziva; "Zivaleh David."

"That is not my name." She muttered.

"I should know what name you have Ziva."

"I am married. It is Ziva DiNozzo now!"

The director again shifted his focus, landing on Vance. "Leon! Why did you not mention this to me, when we spoke?"

"Not my place to tell Eli."

"Going to act like I am not here now!"

Eli looked as though, Ziva's sudden outburst was nothing of significance, he seemed utterly unfazed. "Do not speak to me like that, Ziva." His voice remaining calm and void of emotion.

"What do you suggest I do!"

"You return to your duties."

"My duties lie here, in America. With NCIS and my husband."

"You have your family here, Zivaleh."

"I used to! A long time ago! My family are dead! My life is here, I have a wonderful family here! I am having children with Tony. But you already knew that!"

"I knew nothing of your marriage or pregnancy! How dare you accuse me!"

"So you are not still having Mossad officers following me!" She demanded, feeling extremely frustrated.

"Ziva the stress! Calm down." Tony whispered to her, pulling her back slightly with his hand in hers. She took a few, deep, calming breaths, before she stepped back, aligning with him.

"You don't have the right to keep tabs on my wife. She stays here with me!" Tony's anger began to boil inside him again, it took all of his willpower not to jump head first for the screen, screaming and shouting abuse.

"DiNozzo! Take Ziva and wait outside."

"Boss-"

"Now!"

He complied and pulled Ziva in the direction of the door. They weren't even out of MTAC, before Gibbs laid into Eli.

"Whatcha playing at, Eli? Trying to break up my team?"

"I want my daughter back, Agent Gibbs. That is all."

"Well, she's happy here. Nice work on your daughter Tali's blood, being put in our victim. Who'd you send to do that?"

Eli then muttered something in Hebrew. Ziva turned hot on her heels back to the screen, Tony lagging close behind.

"What should who have done!"

"I am protecting you, my ahuva sheli."

"You do not get to call me that anymore. Now, who are you talking about!"

"Melick. You know who he is."

"Tony!" Gibbs signalled him to remove Ziva, he complied, pulling her away with him.

"You wanna fill us in, on this Melick, Eli?"

"My daughter will fill you in, Leon. Shalom."

* * *

><p>"Agent's DiNozzo and David. My office."<p>

They followed Vance, into his office, and stood patiently by his desk, Gibbs stood by his agent's sides.

"What's going on, Director?"

"I think you should ask your wife that."

He turned to her, giving her a questioning look; "She's in no fit state! Look at her!" Ziva's eyes were darkened, due to her crying, she appeared distant, but was clenching onto her husband's hand for dear life.

"I don't care. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"I'm not having her interrogated, when she's clearly not thinking straight!"

"This needs fixing DiNozzo. Regardless of your wife's feelings."

"So, when she's deemed unfit for duty, will you care then Director!"

"Tony." He turned to the soft voice of his distressed wife, and stroked her cheek.

"You wanna talk to me alone?" She kept her eyes trained on him, nodding her head slowly.

He looked towards Gibbs for approval, when he found it; he tugged Ziva out of the office, as quickly as he could. He found a secluded area, and sat her down, taking her hands in his. "Who is Melick?"

"He... Uh... He." He recognised she was beginning to panic, her breathing becoming slightly erratic.

"Honey. Breathe. In and out. In and out." She followed his instructions, carefully breathing in and out, trying to calm herself. "That's it. Nice and slow. Good." He mirrored her actions, allowing her to see what she should be doing, it seemed to help her, and she calmed. "Okay?" She nodded weakly, her emotions, still very much at the surface, of her broken down walls. "Do you feel, ready to tell me?"

"Yes." He didn't push her, just gave a reassuring smile, promising her that whatever happened, he would be there at the end of it all still. "Melick, is... he was umm... he was at uh... the camp."

"Somalia... Did he uh... you know?"

"No... He umm... he held me down, whilst..." The tears were more frequent, sliding down her cheeks, Tony felt helpless, and knowing there was nothing he could do, to stop the pain she was experiencing, made it worse.

"Can I uh, do anything?"

She looked into his eyes, her heart pleading with her to let go, and fully let her emotions take over. "Hold me?"

"Yeah." He stood up, pulling Ziva with him, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as best he could with the baby bump. He placed feather light kisses in her hair; "I love you honey. So much. I'll protect you, I promise."

"I love you too, Tony."

* * *

><p>A little while later, they returned to the Director's office, both Vance and Gibbs still there.<p>

"Tony. She ok?"

"Just about."

"She willing to explain?"

"Possibly."

"I want him caught."

"Who is he, Ziver?"

"He was involved in my capture in Somalia." Tony could sense her panic, and sought out her hand, giving hers a reassuring squeeze.

"What would make him work with your father?"

"He would have recruited him; he seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with me, whilst I was captured. Joining forces with my father, would give him the opportunity to be near me."

"Ziva please, go under agency protection. For our unborn children's sake."

"Tony, he will get to me no matter what. He appears to have joined Mossad, he will know every trick we pull, he can easily escape. He will do but nothing to take me."

Gibbs interrupted them; "You'll both stay at mine. I'll have two agents stationed outside my door, just in case. DiNozzo and I, will remained armed, until he's caught."

"Gibbs, he is not stupid enough to fall into a trap. Melick enjoys taunting people; this is why he is here, to get you to do all of these things. He wants me; there is nothing we can do to stop him."

"Ziva no! I'm your husband, you're going nowhere. I want you with me, where I can protect you."

"Tony, I am going to have to be bait, nothing else will work in these circumstances. We have no choice."

"There has to be another way-"

"There is not! Me being bait is the only way. Tony, I'm sorry, but it has to happen."

"No!" Tony stormed out of the office, needing to clear his head. Ziva stared longingly at the now closed door.

"Agent David. Tell your husband we will discuss this later. Gibbs and I want a quiet word." Ziva nodded and trailed to find Tony.

* * *

><p>"I thought I'd find you here." He remained silent. "You like to come here, to clear your head, when you are troubled."<p>

"I don't want you, anywhere near that Melick."

"Tony. It will be hard for me, but it has to be done-"

"No! What if I lose you? I can't risk that! You die, so do the babies. I couldn't handle that kind of pain."

"That's what that was about? You are terrified of losing me?"

"I don't want to be somebody, who loses their family, before it's even begun. Don't ask me to do that."

"I am not asking you to, lose your family. He would not kill me. There is nothing to fear. We need to catch Melick, before he kills someone else."

"You're not being bait on your own."

"Tony, it is me, he is after. Who else could possibly be bait?"

"Me!"

"Tony, no."

"Yes. If you're so, god damn desperate to catch this guy, then you'll do it, with me by your side. That's what being married means, we do everything together."

"Tony, are you sure you want to do this?"

He nodded willingly; "If it means keeping you, and the babies' safe, I'll do anything."

"I love you Tony." She placed her hands tentatively on his cheeks.

"I love you too." They kissed deeply.

When they returned to the bullpen, Gibbs and McGee were waiting for them, leaning against their own respective desks.

"DiNozzo!"

"Yeah Boss?"

"You alright?" He nodded. "We going ahead with the protection detail?"

"Tony has agreed that I can be bait, as long as he is too."

"Willing to risk your life too, DiNozzo?"

"She's my wife; I'd do anything for her."

"Ziva? You sure you can cope with this? It's a lot of stress, and your pregnant; you're not gonna be able to fight as much as you want."

"Tony understands, and he has my six. Do You?"

"You'll both stay at mine. And before you ask David, yes that's an order. You're on my team, you do as I say. Both of you, go home, get as much stuff as you need, then go straight to mine."

"Boss-"

"NOW DINOZZO!"

* * *

><p><strong>I know Tony and Ziva were rather OOC in this chapter, but hey, it is Tiva fluff! :)<strong>

**This was actually quite a hard chapter to write. I orignally wrote this a month ago, then changed about half of it, just a few days ago. I'm more proud of it now, than I was before. So hope, I didn't depress anyone too much. Click that little button below, and it would please me muchly.**


	10. Who's going where now?

**Sorry for not updating! My family life is hectic at the minute! Anyway, down to business! This chapter is set a month into the Melick situation; nothing has happened so far, until now that is...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, or any of the characters. I own Melick, Dr. Johnson and the unborn DiNozzo babies! =]**

* * *

><p>It had been a month since Ziva and Tony had agreed to move in at Gibbs, and become bait for Melick. Ziva's pregnancy was more noticeable than before, Dr. Johnson had said the babies were still healthy, and growing quickly. Over the last few days, Tony had gone into over-protective mode on Ziva. Panicking when she made the slightest expression or movement he didn't recognize.<p>

"Ziva, baby, I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"Tony! I am sick of this protectiveness. I am capable of looking after myself."

"I know that. It's not gonna stop me worrying though; Melick could strike any day, and I don't want you put in danger."

"We have been through this, multiple times. I am being bait, whether you like it or not!"

"Fine! Fine! You do what you want then. I'm only your husband!"

"Will you stop acting like a child!"

"I'm not!"

There was an awkward, eerie silence between them, before Ziva broke it. "Are you jealous?" She had a softer tone now.

"Why would I be jealous of that MELICK?" He snapped at her; putting a heavier emphasis on Melick's name.

"You are! After everything he put me through, you really think, anything could have happened! Why don't you trust me!"

"I do trust you!"

"Well clearly not!" He remained silent, unable to muster a response. "This marriage is never going to work, if you don't trust me."

"I'm sorry." He whispered, the words slipping off his tongue, before he left the basement, his wife alone, to make sense of the situation. After a few minutes, she finally plucked up the courage to face her husband; only when she was ready, a gunshot was heard, alarm bells instantly ringing in her head. _Tony. I have to protect Tony._ She thought.

She waddled up the stairs, as fast as her legs could take her. "TONY!" She knew it was the work of Melick, she bent down, checking his pulse. He was still breathing; she sat down, resting his head in her lap, she let a few tears escape. She pulled out her phone, dialling a number.

"_911. What is your emergency?"_

"I need an ambulance. Now!"

"_Please, relax ma'am."_

"It is my husband. Please, he has been shot! One round in the stomach. He is an NCIS agent."

"_They're on their way ma'am."_

Ziva put the phone down, and began applying pressure to his gunshot wound. The blood seeping through her fingers, worried her further. "Hang on Tony. I'm not going to let you die. Do you hear me? You are not leaving me and the babies. I will not let you."

Tony slowly put his hand on her arm; "I'm sorry, baby."

She shook her head vigorously. "Stop apologizing... Do you hear those sirens, Tony?" He nodded weakly against her thigh. "Yes? They are here to save you. Ok?" Her voice was cracked, with the unsteadiness caused by her tears, and the obvious fear she had let show.

* * *

><p>Eight hours later; Ziva was still pacing in the waiting room. Abby had come for moral support, and was sat down, silently praying Tony would pull through. The last few hours had taken their toll on Ziva and the rest of the team. The time now, was just as stressful, but a little more calming than the previous, awaiting news, to see if Tony had a sucessful surgical procedure or not.<p>

"Family of Anthony DiNozzo?" Ziva shot forward, almost knocking the Doctor over in the process.

"I am his wife. How is he?"

"The bullet delved deep into his abdomen, but we've managed to remove it. However, it did nick a few of his arteries, so he's gonna have a little trouble eating and moving, for a couple days."

Ziva nodded, absorbing all the information. "Can I see him?"

"Yes, you can. Be warned, he is on morphine. Room 103. Down the hall, to the right."

"Thank you." The Doctor walked away. Ziva then turned to Abby, her expression clear on what she wanted.

"Go Ziva. I'll inform Gibbs, tell him what's happened." Ziva gave Abby a little hug, thanking her for the support. She wandered down the hall, in search of her husband. When she arrived in the room, she couldn't keep the grin from forming.

"Tony?"

His face lit up when he saw her. "Sweet cheeks! Hey! I missed you." She never saw him so excited to see her; she put it down to the morphine though.

"I missed you too." She then lightly smacked him, on the back of his head.

He grunted in response, moving his hand upwards to rub the spot, she had hit only seconds beforehand. "What was that for?"

"For nearly leaving me and the babies! You scared me." She scolded; despite being pleased he was okay; getting shot still upset her.

"I'm sorry." He pouted like a little child, sticking his lower lip outwards.

She ignored his child like behaviour; "You are lucky to be alive."

"Has he been caught?"

"Yes. Gibbs and McGee killed him, whilst you were in surgery... He came to the hospital. To take me away."

"He tried to take you!" His anger was clear; his fists balling the sheets up tightly; his knuckles white. Ziva was quick to reassure him, noticing his frustration.

"He cannot harm us anymore. I want to forget everything that has happened."

"Did he hurt you!"

"He bruised my arm slightly. That is all. Forget it Tony. He is dead."

"What about your father? He could send someone else."

She shook her head, "He will not. I have placed him. I told him, he will never see his grandchildren, if he continues to act the way he has."

"You mean 'put him in his place', not placed him."

"Trust you, to correct my English."

"So, we can go home? Our home?"

"In a few days. Once you have healed, and this mess has been cleared. You are not going into work for a while."

"Zee-Vah!"

"No whining."

He moved about in his hospital bed, sliding downwards, so he could succumb to the dire desire to sleep. "I'm tired."

"I will come back."

"No." He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Stay."She complied, and lay next to him, on the hospital bed. They fell asleep, side by side, holding each other's hands.

An hour later, Gibbs arrived at the hospital. He knocked lightly on the room door, before entering. When he walked in, Ziva stirred in her husband's arms, carefully manoeuvring herself, away from him.

"Ziva."

"Gibbs?"

"Need to talk."

"Outside, please. I do not want to wake Tony." He nodded, and followed her out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

"What is going on, Gibbs?"

"Your fathers coming to DC."

"What?"

"He's not happy at about Melick's death."

"I would not imagine him to be. He would just send an agent for the body; it is not like him to come. He does not leave Israeli soil."

"Has now. He's coming over with a few agents in two days. You and DiNozzo should get outta DC, until his visit is over."

"Gibbs. I just-"

"This is too stressful, for you and the babies. I don't want you getting sick, neither will DiNozzo."

"I will not face my father. But I am not running away. The sooner he goes, the sooner my life can continue."

"Are there any other Mossad agents that could end up doing the same thing?"

"Under my father's orders? Anyone. By their own choice? I am not sure."

"Sure, you can handle this?"

"I wish everyone would stop doubting me." She muttered under her breath, absentmindedly rubbing her stomach.

"We're protecting you. Not doubting you."

"Everything I do Gibbs, is for my family. This is for Tony, and our unborn children."

"Prepare yourself."

* * *

><p><strong>I know I didn't elaborate on the shooting of Melick; but I will revisit that in future chapters, possibly in flashbacks, or I will remain just as tight-lipped as Gibbs! Who knows! That review button is awaiting you, please don't disappoint. :) Thanks for reading.<strong>


	11. It's a little too late for that!

**Time for a Daddy David confrontation I think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, or any of the characters. Wish I did...**

**Answer to Zats review: Don't worry, Eli will be leaving the family alone, for now at least...**

**Answer to TotalCowGirl's review: Thanks! Ziva is about three and a half months pregnant.**

* * *

><p>Two days later, Tony had been discharged, and Ziva had reluctantly agreed to take him to the Navy yard, to see their co-workers. When they entered the lab; the classic scene played before them; Brain Matter was blasting through the speakers of Abby's radio, and she was dancing around in platform boots, clanking against the ground, oblivious to their presence.<p>

"ABBY!" They both yelled in unison, trying to gain her attention over the deafening levels of music. It worked, and she quickly turned the radio off, stopping the music, she ran over to them.

"Tony!" Her excitement was very clear, when she squeezed him into one of her typical Abby hugs. She barely heard the groan that escaped his lips in pain. Ziva was the one to enlighten her.

"Abby. His stomach is still very sore. He must not endure much physical exercise and contact."

She instantly leapt back, a look of guilt, spread across her face. "Oh my gosh, Tony I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"It's ok." His voice was strained, a pained, low whisper.

Abby offered a sympathetic, apologetic look, then turned to Ziva. "I don't think you guys should be here." Her and Ziva exchanged glances, worrying Tony.

"He is here, isn't he?" Although Tony was glad his wife had used a contraction, he grew more worried, and concerned that he had been kept in the dark over something. Abby nodded towards her friend, confirming her fears.

Tony turned to his wife; now ignoring Abby's presence. "Who's here?"

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Ziva knew it was a rhetorical question, her friend already knew the answer, but she still shook her head to confirm.

"Tell me what? Ziva!"

"My father is here." She whispered incoherently, underneath the hands that covered her lips. He grabbed her hands, tugging her out of her lab, all the while saying goodbye to Abby.

"We have to go Abby!"

When they entered the elevator; he waited a few seconds to flip the emergency switch, and then turned to face his wife. "Why didn't you tell me?" He lifted her chin up, getting her to face him.

"I knew."

He grew a quizzical look, shaking his head a few times; "I'm confused. Knew what-"

"What your reaction would be." He understood what she meant now; and she was right. He wasn't going take her father being in DC lightly; and the fact that she kept this from him, made it all the more worse.

He felt his anger boiling up inside him; "You thought of that, as a good enough reason, to keep this from me!"

"Tony." She grabbed onto his forearms; "I wanted to protect you; can't that be the reason?"

"You lied to me." He gently pried her hands off his arms, and stepped back a little.

So she took another step forward; "I did not lie... You never asked, and I never told."

"But if I asked... Would you have told me?" She averted his eye line, and remained silent, giving him the answer he already knew. "Exactly."

He flipped the emergency switch again, jerking the elevator into movement again. They said nothing to each other the entire ride up to the bullpen, standing quietly next to the other.

When the doors opened, they stepped out, and saw the unexpected sat at Ziva's desk; her hand sought out his.

"Zivaleh, I have been waiting for you." The voice was calming, yet monotone, no real emotion behind it.

Tony was the first to speak. "Like hell you were!"

"I am speaking to my daughter Agent DiNozzo, not you."

Eli stood up from the desk; Tony immediately pulled Ziva behind him, in a protective manner, still holding her hand. "She doesn't want to talk to you." He sized up to Eli.

"I think we should let her decide."

"Why are you here?" Her voice was soft and weak.

"I came to see you, yaldah."

"Well, you have seen me; now you can leave... You are not wanted here." She was still stood behind her husband, she had made no effort to hide her upset.

"You're causing my wife unnecessary stress."

"Zivaleh, I want to make amends."

"Little late for that. I do not need you in my life."

He wagged his finger in front of her; "Do not speak to me like that, Ziva."

"She has every right to do so!" Tony intercepted again, standing up for his wife.

"Who killed Melick, then?" He was quick to a subject change, however that sentence hit a nerve.

"That all you care about, Eli?"

"If you have read the report, you will know."

"I want to ensure this is not another cover-up by NCIS."

"You are unbelievable! Why would NCIS cover-up a murder?"

"After everything, he put her through!"

"Stay out of this Anthony."

"I don't think so! She's my wife; this has everything to do with me!"

Eli turned back to his daughter, ignoring his son-in-law again. "He has murdered one of your partners before." He pointed towards Tony.

"Tony, did not murder Melick! He was in the hospital at the time of death!"

"From the report; it claims Melick's murder was at Bethesda, at the same time Anthony was there."

"That proves he was at the hospital, not that he killed him!"

"Who can verify that?"

"I can! And the doctors who operated on him can!" Ziva was fuming; and couldn't believe her father was accusing Tony, whilst he was standing there.

"Ziva. Calm down." Tony squeezed her hand, turning around to face her.

"Do not tell my daughter what to do."

"Hey!" Ziva was the one to jump in first, without giving her husband a chance. "He earned that right, when we began dating over a year ago. You lost your right!"

"Zivaleh."

She sent him a piercing glare, before turning back to Tony. "Come on Tony, the babies are hungry."

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><p>Tony sat down in the break room, watching with daggers, as Ziva paced about, ranting. "I cannot believe him! All those things-"<p>

"Ziva?"

"He just does not have the right to act this way-"

"Ziva?"

"He had no right to accuse you of murder. He should not be here!"

"ZIVA!"

"What!" He was happy he had her attention now; he stood up, facing her.

"Forget him! He's not worth it."

"I wish he was dead sometimes; he is the cause of all my pain."

He stroked her cheek lovingly, showing nothing but affection and care in his eyes. "I can't say I don't agree with you."

"I just want to forget everything ever, associated with him."

He pondered this for a moment, before speaking; "Then let's do that... He's going back to Israel tomorrow. We'll probably never have to see him again. Our family will be perfect."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Just focus on these babies, right here." He gestured towards her stomach. "And your father will seem like a distant blur."

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><p><strong>So, what did you guys think? The review button is waiting! :) Thanks.<strong>


	12. Why are you interested in that?

**I decided to throw in a bit of Tony and McGee loveliness in this chapter. So, something a bit new for me. Hope it's brotherly, and exactly how Tony and McGee are percieved to be.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters. Just DiNozzo baba's are mine! :D**

* * *

><p>Tony, Ziva, Abby and McGee had agreed to spend Saturday afternoon together; they were sat in the food court at the mall. The girls had been shopping for maternity clothes for Ziva, leaving the boys to roam the mall alone.<p>

"You alright, McGee?"

"Ya. Fine Tony."

"You sure? Seem a little distant."

"I'm fine. Really." _He's diverting, _Tony thought.

He decided not to push him any further for now though. "Ok." They both sat in an awkward silence, not sure what to start a new conversation with.

McGee spoke up first, having found something acceptable and light to discuss; "How's the whole pregnancy going?"

"It's going good thanks. Ziva's cravings are a little weird to say the least."

"Why? What's she eating?"

"At the moment, sardines and frozen yoghurt."

McGee made a sickly gesture, showing his distaste. "Eurgh. Together?"

"Oh yeah. Twins will do that to ya." Tony spoke about his wife's cravings as if they were completely normal, despite being strange yet expected.

"Where did they go anyway?"

"Ziva's hungry, Abs went with her."

"And she didn't want her adorning husband with her?" McGee smirked at him.

"Easy McTeaser. My wife and I, have all the time in the world for each other, she should spend time with her friends, same as me."

"Since when did I say, I was interested in your sex life DiNozzo?"

"Since you got jealous, that I had the guts to tell Ziva how I feel, and you haven't done so with Abs."

"So smug."

"Anything going on between you two lately?"

McGee looked up at him; "Me and Abby? What? Why would there be? Come on. Course not." _Oh yeah, diverting, right there..._

"You sure about that, Tim?"

"You just called me Tim!"

"That's your name."

"Yeah, but-you... never call me that."

"I can change. Now spill McLoveless."

"We've already been down that road once. Don't think we can go back down it again. We're much closer as friends."

"Come on, if Ziva and I can do it, surely you can too."

"Yeah but... You and Ziva weren't together before." Tony grew and awkward expression, and looked in the direction of the food counter, where Ziva stood. "Were you!"

He quickly snapped out of his trance; "Was I what McGee?"

"Were you ever with Ziva, long before you hooked up, over a year ago?"

"No."

"You're lying to me."

"Why would I do that?"

"To protect whatever happened between you and Ziva."

"Why so curious?"

"I'm not."

"You are digging... Abby's always suspected something was going on; she's asked you to find out stuff, hasn't she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah you do. You can't fool me that easy. You're far from interested in my love life. I can set my three month pregnant wife on you; she can still cause bodily harm."

"Oh look, here comes Abby and Ziva with the food."

They separated, allowing the girls to sit between them. Ziva sat down beside Tony, and kissed him on the lips. "Hello Tony."

"Hey. Whatcha got there?"

"A double beef burger for you; and a chicken burger and fries for me."

"Thanks honey. Hungry?"

"Yes. The babies have been kicking me for the last fifteen minutes."

"You're kidding! I missed it?" He placed his hands on her stomach, attempting to feel the touch of his babies.

"They have stopped now." He removed his hands, and sighed in defeat, really wishing he could have felt them move. Ziva was fast to reassure him. "You will feel them soon." She gently kissed his lips again.

"You two are soo cute!" They smiled at Abby, a silent thank you for the compliment on their relationship. "So, when's your next doctor's appointment, Ziva?"

"Two weeks time."

"So, will you find out the sex of the babies then?"

"Uh, yes we think so."

"Yay! Have you guys not tossed any names around yet?"

"Not yet Abs. We did decide that we want them to have Hebrew, Italian names though."

"They'll have unique names then."

"Yes, they will McGee."

"Hey Abs?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"You got something you want to tell me?"

"Do you have something you want to tell me?"

"No."

"Then me neither."

"Ok fine."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, and to everyone who has stuck with my story so far.<strong>


	13. Author's Note!

**Authors Note: **_**I haven't given up on the story. I start college again in less than a week, so preparations are underway for that.**_

_**I'm already part way through re-writing chapter 13, and I will have it up as soon as possible.**_

_**Thanks to everyone who has read, and kept up-to-date with my story.**_


	14. Bondage & hyperactive caffiene addicts

**I can't apologise enough, for the lack of updates with this story. I suffered writers block for a while, on top of college stress, and uni prep. Life has been hectic, but I am trying to make more time for this story. So here is chapter 13. Thank you soo much, to everyone who has read or has just begun reading this story, it means an awful lot.**

**Anyway, enough of my damn babbling. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, or any of the characters.**

* * *

><p>After spending some time together outside of work; Abby and Ziva had decided to do it again the following weekend, with the boys agreeing. During the week; they had had fairly easy open and shut cases, nothing too complex for the Major Case Response Team.<p>

They had decided that Abby and McGee were to go over to Tony and Ziva's apartment; where they would watch a few DVD's and have a catch up and friendly chat about the week's events. That morning; Ziva had sent Tony out to the supermarket, to buy some snacks for them all to have, when their friends arrived. Whilst Tony was out; Ziva had showered and changed, and was currently resting on the couch, when he came through the door.

"Ziva? I'm back." He placed the groceries on the kitchen table, shrugging his coat off, before joining her on the couch.

"Hi." He kissed her supple lips briefly, before both their attentions turned to the TV.

"What are we watching?"

"MI-5."

"A bunch of undercover, British, hardened, TV agents, fighting crime, to save the world? Sounds perfect for you."

"It is bondage, as you said, yes?"

"Chicks and their Brits." He muttered under his breath; whilst applying small, gentle strokes, across his wife's stomach.

"I married you did I not? You should be happy."

"I am happy. Just don't understand, what's so great about British men?"

"You have watched James Bond. That should answer your question."

"You really love crime fighters, don't you?"

She smirked, before turning in his direction, allowing him to freely see the amused look on her face. "I do love a good cop. The lifestyle is, invigorating, yes?"

"You could say that." Neither paid attention; when a bomb exploded across the screen; sending the team of agents flying to the ground, with a loud thud, illuminating the room in an ominous orange glow.

Instead, Tony used his free hand, to graze his knuckles along the edge of Ziva's cheek, smiling as she leaned into his touch instinctively, his other hand still softly, stroking the cocoon in her stomach, where their children resided. They were brought out of their moment; when incessant knocking began, they knew it was Abby, only she would knock that much, when she was excited.

Tony was literally attacked in a bone-crushing hug; once he had opened the door, it had taken both his and McGee's strength to pry her away. Ziva had chosen to remain by the couch; clearing the coffee table, to make room for whatever snacks her husband had bought. Tony had invited their friends in; before anyone could stop her, Abby ran over, and pulled Ziva into a tight hug, luckily she wasn't as crushed as Tony was.

He had vaguely heard Ziva, explain to Abby something about the babies; he knew that was the reason for Abby's sudden shoot back, and lightning speed apology.

"Ok. So, who's up for some MI-5?"

"Ooo. Who put that on?"

"I did."

"Oh great, Ziva. That sounds awesome, huh Timmy?"

"Abs? How many Caf-Pow's you had this morning?"

"Not that many." Both Tony and Ziva turned in McGee's direction, raising their eyebrows, expecting the answer Abby was not giving.

"Seven." They both groaned in sync, knowing the day consisted of, fast-paced conversations, and an over-hyperactive Abby. More or less, taking care of a child, hyped up on sugar.

"Well come on guys. Let's watch it. It looks great. Oh, did you see that? Lucas North just pulled his gun on that guy. God he's hot, huh Ziva?"

"He is good looking, yes." When she was asked that question, her eyes locked onto Tony's immediately, and left once she had answered, indicating clearly, who she was talking about. Nor McGee or Abby seemed to notice this.

Once Abby had calmed down a little; they got settled on the couch and loveseat. McGee and Abby sat together on the couch, whilst Ziva situated herself on the edge of the loveseat, waiting for Tony to sit behind her. He had gone to the kitchen to gather the popcorn, and gummi bears he had secretly bought Ziva as a treat.

On his way through, he handed McGee the popcorn, and sat behind Ziva, spreading his legs for her to rest in his lap, she accepted the invitation, and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He passed her the bowl of gummi bears, and revelled in the brief excitement on her face. Both their hands fiddled inside the bowl; grabbing a mixture of multi-coloured bears, popping a handful in their mouths at once in sync with one another.

"How come you invited us here anyway, Tony?" Three heads snapped in one direction, looking towards the source.

"McGee!" Abby scolded him, smacking his arm. Tony and Ziva remained silent, slightly bemused by their co-workers. "They wanted to spend time with us. That's why we're here."

"Don't want to spend time with us, McTim?" Tony smirked to himself, enjoying watching his colleague squirm, whilst trying to comprehend an answer.

"That's not what I-I meant."

"Ok, McStutter." He couldn't stop the laugh from rolling of his tongue; it allowed Ziva to feel the vibrations in her back, she pinched his leg, her nails slowly digging into the fabric of his jeans. His yelp was more than enough satisfaction.

McGee, Abby and Tony re-focused on the TV, whilst Ziva frowned downwards at her stomach. Their co-workers were oblivious as to what was bothering Ziva, however Tony had noticed within a few seconds, and was soothing her stomach.

He noticed that it wasn't working, and whispered into her ear. "What's the matter?"

"I am fat."

"You're pregnant. Not fat. It's our children's home. For now." He rubbed his hand back and forth over the top of her slightly swollen stomach.

She sighed in agreement, and linked their hands, sinking further into him.

A minute later, the entire team jumped out of surprise, when Abby dived out of her seat, with a shocked expression on her face.

"Abby?" McGee had placed the bowl down on the coffee table, and looked up at Abby.

"What is the matter?" Ziva turned in her husband's arms, both of them observing Abby.

"We're outta popcorn! McGee ate it all." She pointedly accused her co-worker, aiming her arm out towards him.

"McPoppers, stuffed the popcorn for yourself?"

McGee hesitantly defended himself, whilst simultaneously accusing Abby. "Actually, Abby's the one who ate more."

Abby then placed her hands on her hips in a defensive manner, obviously prepping herself for a little arguing.

"It does not matter Abby. We have more popcorn in the kitchen. And you can share these gummi bears with us." Ziva lifted the bowl from her lap for emphasis, shoving it in her friend's direction. Abby happily stepped forward, pulling the bowl out of Ziva's hands greedily, before satisfyingly sitting back on the couch, re-focusing on the TV. McGee, Tony and Ziva shared confused, yet amused looks.

It was almost another hour til they showed disinterest in MI-5; Abby was the first one to enlighten the team on the comparisons she had made between the seven Caf-Pows she had had.

No-one was majorly intrigued by the conversation, but paid attention none the less. They spent the better part of the afternoon, discussing the cases they had worked that week, and insulted and praised each other's interrogation tactics. McGee had bared the brunt of Tony's insults, whilst Ziva's got consistently praised by both her husband and Abby.

It was around seven by the time; Tony and Ziva were alone, still peacefully resting in the comfort of each other on the loveseat. Ziva was half way to dozing in his arms, with the soothing motions of his hands over her stomach; she began muttering in Hebrew, causing Tony to question her.

"You ok?"

It was another minute, before she responded to him, gently rolling her head around on his chest. "Do you think we will be able to protect them from danger?"

"I think; we'll try our damndest to."

"I just... I do not want our children exposed to the type of childhood I had."

"I promise our children will _never _have that kind of childhood, Zi. They'll have the most, loving, dysfunctional family, we dreamed of, when we were kids."

She craned her neck to look up at him, her eyes softening. "You really mean that?"

"With my heart Zi." He kissed her lips tenderly, pouring all his promises into the kiss he gave. "With my heart."

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><p><strong>I actually had to research the programmes on BBC America, as I was unsure what British shows are shown over there. I decided to use Spook's aka MI-5, because of the 'bondage thing' that Ziva said to Tony in early season 8. No idea why I'm trying to use American idioms and such in my story, probably because it's an American show. Keeping it real, as they say. Anyway, as usual reviews are very much welcomed and highly appreciated. Thanks.<strong>


	15. DiNozzo babies & Tony's new attitude

**I promised more regular updates, so here's chapter 14!**

* * *

><p>"Hey Ziva. Tony."<p>

"Hey Doc." Tony cheerfully replied to their midwife, for both him and his wife.

Dr. Johnson nodded towards him, before voicing her observations over Ziva. "You're looking a little bigger now Ziva, since I last saw you."

In response Ziva rubbed her hand over the swell of her stomach. "Yes, the babies have been quite fast in growing within a month."

"That I can see. Would you like to pop down here for me?"

Ziva followed the instructions, lying down; lifting her shirt enough to expose her stomach, before taking Tony's awaiting hand. Dr. Johnson waited until Ziva appeared comfortable, before squirting the blue gel across her protruding stomach.

"So, have you been taking those vitamins I prescribed you?"

"Yes I have."

"Good. Now, let's see these babies of yours."

"Definitely!" Ziva smiled lovingly at Tony, with the level of enthusiasm he showed, at getting to see their children inside her.

The Doctor grabbed the wand, and moved it effortlessly over the pregnant Israeli's stomach, quickly bringing up the image, that made both Tony and Ziva's heart's swell at the sight.

"They seem quite relaxed today."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Would you like to know the sex?"

They both shared looks, silently confirming the answer to their Doctor's question, before Ziva turned back around and answered. "Yes. We would like that, very much."

"Ok. Well, regardless, I can say these two beautiful babies, will be perfectly healthy."

"That is all we can ask for."

Ziva felt her palm heat up under the tight hold of her husband's clutch, both their hands becoming sweaty, the beads colliding together in the confined space.

"Here we go..."

* * *

><p>"Come on guys. I know that, the DiNozzo's are welcoming two girls! I just know it."<p>

McGee disagreed with his colleague's opinion, immediately voicing his own. "I don't think so Abby. I've got a feeling; they'll have one boy and one girl."

"What about you Gibbs? What do you think?"

Without looking up from the computer screen, he answered her question blatantly. "You already know my answer on that Abs."

Abby shook her hands about, starting to pace up and down the bullpen again. "Where are they? They should be back by now! Ooo, that reminds me. I'll need to collect, when Tony and Ziva confirm my suspicions."

"Or mine!"

"Ok, Timmy. Relax. Jeez!"

The ding of the elevator brought the entire team to their feet; seeing their co-workers breeze out, with large grins on their faces.

"You're back. You're back!" Both Tony and Ziva made disgruntled groans of disapproval to the vice grip like hug, they were currently receiving.

"Whoa. Easy Abby." Tony manoeuvred her backwards, giving him and his wife the free space to breathe. "Never knew, you were so happy to see us."

"Well yeah, duh! I need to know, what I'm becoming an aunt to!"

Tony turned to face Ziva, giving her the lead in this conversation. "Over to you, honey."

"The twins are; both girls."

They watched within a split second that Abby's face lit up with pure glee and excitement, she ran over to McGee's desk, holding her hands out. "Ah Yes! Fork it over McGee. Gibbs and I are waiting!"

He grumbled before pulling his wallet out, handing over two fifty dollar bills. "Can't believe I lost 100 bucks!"

"That's your own fault." She passed over one of the fifty dollar bills to Gibbs, before re-facing McGee. "You shouldn't have bet against the great white and myself. You'll only lose."

Ziva was the next one to speak, a shocked tone, lacing the words she spoke. "You were betting on the sex of our children?"

"Sorry. Easy money."

"It doesn't matter now, Abs." Tony moved away from Ziva, to place his bagpack behind his desk, removing his coat.

"Well, we know what they are now. We can prepare for them. Abby, would you mind coming round at seven this evening to discuss plans with me? Tony said you had some ideas?"

"Oh my gosh Ziva, yes! I have so many ideas. Oh my god, I have to plan you a baby shower too."

"A baby shower? Tony, what is that?"

"It's where a pregnant woman is given gifts for the baby. You know, like clothes and stuff."

"Oh."

"Talk about this on clocking off time. DiNozzo's desks! Abs to the lab!"

A string of apologies arose in the bullpen, as the team did as they were asked.

"McGee! What'd ya got?"

"Uh, I managed to get a fix on the Petty officers cell phone. It's currently residing at Baldwin Drive, Millersville, Maryland."

Gibbs went and grabbed his badge and gun from his desk, before breezing out, giving orders as he went. "DiNozzo! With me." Ziva sat up, about to grab her bag. "Not you. Sit!"

"Gibbs!"

* * *

><p>"Petty officer Jacks. NCIS. We need to talk with you."<p>

After hearing crashing about inside the house for a minute; Gibbs and Tony were greeted with appearance of the Petty officer. "I already told you everything."

"Well, we have a few more questions. If you don't cooperate, we'll have to take you to NCIS."

"Fine! What is it about this time?"

"Can we come in?" The Petty officer sighed, and pulled his door further backwards, allowing the team to walk through.

"So?"

"Your friend, Jordan Gater."

"Look, I told you everything I know. What else could you possibly want to know?"

"Your alibi."

"My alibi? Alibi for what?"

"Gater's murder."

"I didn't murder him! He was a great friend to me."

"Still need your alibi."

"Ok yes, I was at his place that day. But I swear, he was alive when I left."

"Think it's time you came to NCIS."

* * *

><p>Gibbs was the first to return to the bullpen; Tony nowhere in sight, leaving Ziva to raise questions.<p>

"Where is Tony?" She stopped feasting on her sandwich, long enough to ask Gibbs.

"Phone call." She nodded, accepting his answer, and tucked back into her sandwich again, awaiting her partner's arrival.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that Tony did appear in the bullpen, she noticed he looked a little tense; however his face lit up at the sight of her, as if her being there had cheered him up.

"Hey. What'd ya eating?"

"Chocolate and chilli chips sandwich." He made a yucky face at her, before leaning down and kissing her forehead, whispering words against her skin.

"That's sounds disgusting." He stood back up, moving back around to his desk again.

"Tell your children. They want it."

"So, when you have an unusual craving, they're my children?"

"Yes. You've always ate enough for you and I in the past."

"Heh. Thanks for the compliment."

"I did not mean it as a compliment."

"I'm still taking it as one."

"Strange man."

"But you still love me." She smiled widely at him, showing her thanks, and went back to eating her sandwich.

"So, did you bring him in?"

"Did I bring who in, Probie?"

"Petty officer Jacks?"

"Right! Yeah. Gibbs put him in interrogation I think."

"Does he want one of us down there?"

"Well I don't know Probie. Find out for yourself!"

"Somebody's grouchy today." McGee muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Tony accused his co-worker, pointing his hand in McGee's direction without looking over at him.

"Tony. Be nice to him. What has gotten you, in such an odd mood?"

"I just, get annoyed, when I'm asked questions I don't know the answer to."

"You'd usually just brush it off with a joke or insult one of us."

"I'd never insult my wife. That's just stupid and disrespectful."

Both Ziva and McGee had shocked expressions on their faces, surprised by the statement that just left Tony's mouth.

"Tony, can I have a word? In private?" He nodded, before following her towards the ladies room; she left him to turn and lock the door, leaning against the countertop instead, giving her back the required support.

"What's up?"

"You know why I asked you in here."

"Actually I don't. So, if you could give me a few hints, that'd be great."

"Saying that insulting me is disrespectful and stupid, is not you!" She pushed herself off the countertop, pacing towards him, the anger evident in her face.

"So, you want me to insult you? Is that it?"

"That is not what I'm getting at, and you know it."

"Then what?" His voice was exasperated, now tired with the squabble they were having.

"You were tense, coming into the bullpen. You were happy to see me, and calm; but became tetchy when McGee spoke to you."

"Touchy. I was touchy."

"Whatever! Just stop avoiding the subject."

"Nothing's wrong."

"I cannot believe you just lied to my face. There is something wrong."

"It's complicated."

"The word that people use, when they do not want to discuss their feelings."

"Not now, Ziva."

"Tony. Please tell me."

"Trust me, even I didn't want to know."

"Fine. We will discuss this at home, ok?"

"Yeah." He sighed in defeat, feeling no need to create an argument.

They stepped out into the bullpen; nobody was at their desks on their side of the partition. ""McGoo must' a gone to find Gibbs."

"I think we should do the same, Tony."

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, job done. I think my psychology college coursework deserves my attention now. I've been avoiding it for days on end. Reviews are greatly accepted as normal. Thanks.<strong>


	16. Phonecall confessions of a Federal Agent

**So yeah, the psychology coursework got done, only got rewarded with another task to do. Does my teacher hate me or something? :/ Anyway, next chapter has landed people.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters. DiNozzo babies are mine though. Permission needed to borrow these CBS. Just saying.**

* * *

><p>When they arrived down at interrogation, Gibbs was waiting outside, a file in his hand, impatiently staring the couple down, when they came within eye line.<p>

"Sorry we're late Boss."

"Aha. In there." He pointed to the direction of the interrogation observation room. Tony nodded and pulled Ziva in that direction. When they entered observation, Gibbs had just sat down in front of the Petty officer, and was spreading photos in front him.

"Why are you showing me these?"

"He was your friend."

"So you think I'm hiding something?"

"Are you?"

"No."

"Petty officer Jacks. Where were you the night of Jordan Gater's murder?"

"I already told you, I was at home. Yes, I saw Gater that day, but he was breathing when I left."

"What time was that?"

"I don't know, about three."

"Can anyone verify your whereabouts afterwards?"

"No. I live alone."

"Well, there goes your alibi."

"Why? Coz no-one lives with me? That doesn't prove I wasn't home!"

"No. But it doesn't confirm it either."

In observation Ziva was leaning against the glass, with Tony pressed up behind her.

"My father's getting re-married." He whispered incoherently to her. She intertwined their fingers, that rested by her hip.

"You got an invite?"

"Yeah. Plus one."

"You and I?"

"Yeah. But my Dad doesn't know about us yet."

She sighed, "You never told him."

"He wouldn't have cared. I never saw the point in telling him."

"You do not want to face him?"

"I'm more than capable. I just can't deal with the questions, the arguing, and stuff like that. It's not worth the stress. I'm not putting you through that either."

"Tony." She spun around in his arms, facing him, feeling the conversation rather personal, better to do it face to face. "Maybe we should, go."

"Why?"

"Show your father what he is missing out on, by being the way he is."

"Ziva, I don't think I can."

"You can. I know you can. I will be by your side, every step of the way. The babies will too." She grabbed his hands, placing them on her abdomen for emphasis.

"You do realise he will be marrying some younger rich chick, who will attempt to flirt with me."

"If she does, I will kill her."

He laughed, thankful for her little joke, but still understood the seriousness of her tone. "That's my ninja." He leaned forward and kissed her, but suddenly pulled away feeling an odd movement. "Did you feel that?"

She nodded, "That is the first time you have felt them kick, yes?"

"Yeah. It's amazing. That's my girls in there."

"They can feel Daddy's hands. They know it's you."

"It's the greatest feeling in the world."

"Wait until they are born. You hold them in your arms; and you see their eyes for the first time."

"I think I'd cry."

"Anthony DiNozzo. You would cry?" She mocked him in a shocked voice.

Safe to say, he took it in his stride. "Hey. Only real men aren't afraid to cry."

"And you are a real man, yes?"

"As real as they get Sweet cheeks." He kissed her briefly, before pulling back again. "As real as they get."

* * *

><p>After the long day in the office, Tony and Ziva were thankful to have some downtime. Ziva had politely informed Abby that tonight was not a good night to come over, and suggested another day to discuss the baby shower and such instead. Reluctantly, she had agreed with Ziva, before raising questions on why she cancelled. Ziva had briefly explained that Tony was feeling down and needed her full attention.<p>

Tony and Ziva were currently cuddled on their couch in sweats, whilst watching Hawaii Five-O reruns.

"Tony?"

"Mhmm?"

"Are you going to call your father?"

He sighed, stopping the ministrations on her back. "I'd rather not."

"Tony. We agreed. Phone him."

He let out a long exaggerated moan, before standing up. "Fine. You have such a demanding streak."

"Well, I am your wife. I am supposed to be the demanding one."

"Ok. I'll call him now." He picked his cell phone up, and punched in the numbers for his Dad's cell.

After three rings his Dad picked up. _"Junior! Nice to hear from you."_

"Sure Dad. Got something to tell you."

"_Well what is it Junior? I got a lady waiting for me."_

"Thanks for that. And I accept the invitation to your engagement party, and I will be bringing a guest."

"_Good for you Junior. Got another woman at hand?"_

"None of your business really Dad. I'll see you in a few days." He put the phone down, and sprinted back to Ziva's awaiting arms. He buried his face into her neck, holding her closer to him. "That was the worst thing I've been made to do for a long time." His words were muffled by her neck, but she understood what he said none the less.

"It is over now. We shall just show our faces, say congratulations and come home again."

He jumped back out of her arms after hearing that statement, ready to start an argument.

"Ziva! The minute he sees you and your pregnant stomach, he'll be all over you, and shit stirring!"

"Tony! No cussing in front of the babies. They can hear."

"Sorry."

"What do you have against your father?"

"Nothing. Can we just go to bed? I'm tired. I've had enough Hawaii Five-O."

"You do not want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. Can't we just curl up next to each other, and act like the rest of the world doesn't exist?"

"That is exactly how I planned to spend my Wednesday evening. Come." She pushed her hand out, giving him the invitation and distraction he was asking for. He took it willingly, being led to their bedroom.

She held him tightly that night, keeping them as close as her baby bump would allow. She knew that the days leading up to this event, were going to be difficult for him; and all she could do, was be there for him, and support him when he felt low.

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><p><strong>Ziva will go all ninja on you, if reviews are not left. =]<strong>


	17. Engagement party: Part Uno

**Okay, so this chapter is a little mushy on both Ziva and Tony's parts, only its not towards each other. The arguments and a pissed Tony will come in a future chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters.**

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><p>Ziva had kept Tony strong the last couple of days, leading up to the engagement party. They had requested a week's vacation time for the event. Today was the day they were going to New York, and Tony was anxious, irritated, annoyed and happy in one go. He wasn't pleased about having to face his father, but knowing that Ziva was going to be his side throughout made it a little easier to handle. He was also looking forward to seeing some of his other family, the ones that cared anyway.<p>

He was beginning to pace in the hallway, waiting for his wife to hurry up in the bedroom.

"We have to go Sweetheart. Come on. We have to drive up to New York."

She emerged from their bedroom a minute later. "I am here. Do you have my bag?"

"Yeah. Right here." He lifted her bag over his shoulder, along with his own.

"Then let's go."

It had taken them four and a half hours to drive to New York; Ziva had had a nap during the ride, after Tony had insisted she needed one multiple times. He was glad of the peace to be honest; his mind was going into overdrive. What was he going to say to his father, when he saw him? Was he going to act like nothing ever happened? Pretend that what he did was justified? He didn't know if he could handle it.

"Tony. I can hear the clogs in your brain moving." He did a brief double take at her, before focusing back on the road. _I thought she was asleep. Sneaky ninja._ He thought.

"Cogs sweetie. Not clogs."

"Stop thinking so hard. You will give yourself a headache."

"Sorry. Anxious. That's all."

"Remember I am here, yes?"

"Yeah. I remember." They fell back into a comfortable silence then, Tony's thoughts a little more silenced, now that his wife had comforted him in a subtle way.

When they arrived at the address in New York, they stepped out to a large white mansion, private in the hills. Multiple race cars and supercars parked near the fountain.

"Tony. This is unbelievable! How can your father afford this?"

"He can't. That's why he's marrying this chick. She must have a rich father."

"Well, you have me. I consider you, the lucky one."

"Oh, am I now?"

"Yes you are." They kissed sweetly before separating.

"Let's go. My Dad will be waiting surely."

"Show time, yes?"

Tony nodded towards her, preparing himself for the worst.

They walked into the house, and were greeted by a butler, with a thick North London accent. "Good morning Sir, Madam. May I take your coats?"

"We are fine, thank you." The butler nodded and took their bags.

"Your room will be the third door on the right. Do enjoy your stay here."

"Thanks." The butler headed off up the stairs, the tails of his suit jacket, bouncing lightly behind him.

"Anthony! My boy! Is that you?"

"Uncle Vincenzo? Oh my god. Hi." Vincenzo pulled Tony into a tight man hug, each patting the other on the back.

"I've not seen you in years. How have you been keeping my boy?"

"I've been good. Recently."

"Recently?"

Tony nodded, confirming the answer. "Yeah. I want you to meet someone. Ziva?"

She stepped forward into her husband's arms. "Uncle Vincenzo. This is my wife, Ziva."

"Very nice to meet you, sweetheart. It's about time this boy, got a woman who treats him right."

He gave her a kiss on each cheek; "It is wonderful to meet someone in Tony's family."

"Ooo, pregnant too? My my boy, you have been busy."

"Yeah. We're having twin girls."

Vincenzo broke out into a massive DiNozzo grin, fully resembling Tony's, Ziva noticed. "I think I should get Soph out here. Soph!"

A minute later, a tall, brunette appeared round the corner of the kitchen. "Vinny! What'd ya want? I was talking to someone."

"Look who's here." He pointed towards Tony, watching as Sophie's eyes went wide.

"Anthony! My boy!" She hugged him tightly. "How are you? It's been years."

"Aunt Sophie. I've been good thanks. This is my wife, Ziva."

"Welcome to the DiNozzo famiglia. I'm Sophie, as you've guessed. We need to get to know each other more. Anthony, do you mind if I steal Ziva away?"

He took a glance in his wife's direction, smiling at her, before turning back to Sophie. "Not at all, Aunt Sophie."

"Great. Come on Ziva."

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><p>Sophie helped Ziva situate herself on one of the backed barstools, before starting the conversation. "So, how long have you known Anthony, dear?"<p>

"Nearly six years. We began dating, over a year ago. Got married, just six months later."

Ziva watched as a brief expression of shock crossed Sophie's features, before the woman composed herself. "That's a fast relationship."

"We believed it was the right choice. We knew and still know each other well enough. He proposed, and I said yes."

"Still in the newlywed stage, huh?"

"We have never been that kind of couple, we are not overly affectionate in public, only when necessary. Besides, we are too busy focusing on my pregnancy."

"It's exciting isn't it? I remember when I was pregnant with my Thomas. He lives in Europe now. Anyway, how far along are you?"

"It is exciting, yes. I am about four and a half months along now."

"No offense dear, but you look a little longer along than that."

"Yes. We are having twin girls, so."

"Oh my god! Twins? That's fantastic. Two great nieces! Have you been throwing any names around yet, hunny?"

"Not yet. But they will have Hebrew, Italian names."

"That's very exotic. I can imagine it now." They smiled simultaneously, before Sophie started the conversation again. "If you don't mind me asking, if you've known Anthony for so long; why wait to get together?"

"Our relationship has always been... awkward. There was a connection, when we met."

"Then why not act on it?"

"Our Boss has his own rules, that he wants the team to follow. Rule 12, says you should never date a co-worker. We abided by this rule, because we respected our boss so much."

"So, what changed?"

"My previous boyfriend from Israel was killed in a fight, and I left America to return to home to my duties. Being away from Tony, made me realise, how much I wanted to be with him."

Sophie smiled gently at her; "How did you boss feel about that?"

"He understood that it was inevitable. Everyone at the office knew it was bound to happen, long before it even did."

"Was there always something there, between you two?"

"We both had a sort of, longing, for each other. Something has always been there. It was just a matter of taking that risk."

"Do you think the risk was worth it?"

"It was worth... Everything."

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><p>"So, Uncle Vincenzo, where's my Dad?" Tony was hesitant in asking the question, yet curious as to why his father wasn't at his own engagement party.<p>

"He'll be here soon. With his fiancé." Vincenzo noticed Tony's tension, and changed the subject to something he knew would make him smile. "Anyway, tell me about your wife."

"What do you want to know?" There it was. Tony's genuine smile. That's what he was looking for.

"Where did you meet her?"

"At work."

"You still working at Baltimore?"

"Nah. NCIS in DC."

"So, was she like a witness on a case?"

"No. She works with me. She was a liaison from Israel."

"She's been in the same line of work as you?"

"Yeah. Worked in the line of duty, just as long as I have."

"Quite a feisty woman, then huh?"

"Could say that, yeah. She can put me in my place. She's everything I've ever wanted."

"I'm glad you found the right woman for you, even if your father won't be."

"Yeah well, his opinion is irrelevant."

He patted Tony on the shoulder; "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks." They boys silently drank their scotches before Vincenzo spoke up again; a new set of questions for his nephew.

"How long have you been working at NIC-"

"NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. About 10 years now."

"What about Ziva? How long has she worked with you?"

"About six years."

"Work relationships are complicated."

"Ours always has been. Still is. Don't know how. But we work best, when complicated."

"Do whatever works for you. Now these twins."

"Yeah?"

"Whatcha gonna call um?"

"Not decided on names, yet. Too early."

"They gonna have Italian names?"

"Hebrew Italian. I want my girls to embrace their mother's culture as much as they will mine."

"You really have grown up, huh?"

"She made me grow up. I wouldn't have been able to change, if not for her. She's part of me."

"You really are, a mushy little boy, aren't ya?"

Tony smiled, a small laugh escaping his lips. "I'm sorry I didn't come to visit often in the last ten years."

"Well now, you have much more reason to."

"Yeah." Tony turned around, gazing lovingly at Ziva, who was in an animated conversation with Sophie in the kitchen. "Yeah I do."

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><p><strong>Okay, firstly, I apologise if I mispelled family in Italian. I don't speak this language, so I had trouble, I don't fully trust the online translators. Secondly, i was going to make the butler have a South London accent, but then I realised he'd sound like he was from Essex. It'd be like taking dialogue from 'The Only Way Is Essex' Oh My Gawd! Love that show. Haha. North London is more the Queen's language, minus the Royal stuff. No offense to anyone who is from North London, giving someone a posh accent who is from Manchester where I live, is too hard, my accent is common and full of slang. Anyway, ramble over. God, I'm turning into Abby hyped up on Caf-Pows. YAY! Reviews would be great thanks.<strong>


	18. Engagement party: Part Dos

**Aaaand, here comes pissed off Tony. Oh dear god run!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters.**

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><p>Vincenzo had left Tony alone a little while later, seeing his longing expression for Ziva. He'd discreetly dashed into the kitchen, suggesting to Ziva that she should sit with Tony. She had agreed, and wandered through to the lounge, heading straight for the couch that held her husband.<p>

"Hello Tony." She gave him a kiss on his lips.

"Hey honey. You ok?" He helped her slowly ease down on the couch, cradling her stomach, as she leant back.

"I am fine. You are ready to face your father?"

He sighed; "Yeah, sure."

"It will be fine. Stop worrying. I will be right here." She took his hand in hers. "Ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

The butler entered the lounge, with Senior and his fiancé. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Anthony DiNozzo and his fiancée Lady Ashley Birch." The entire room had clapped briefly out of common courtesy for the couple, a few raising their glasses in a congratulatory manner. Ziva had gently tapped her thigh, in a clapping motion, whilst Tony focused purely on her, not quite ready to face his father.

After a good half hour of the newly engaged couple chatting to family and friends, toasting, laughing and sharing memories, Senior left his fiancé's side, and strode towards his son. As he neared the couch that held his son, he recognised the woman, as his son's partner. He moved around the front of the couch, narrowing down at his son's hand that was linked with Ziva's.

"Junior!" He opened his arms out, leaving Tony to stand up, without letting go of Ziva's hand and give his father an awkward hug.

"Dad." He pulled back quickly, sitting back down beside his wife.

"You brought Ziva, I see?"

"Yeah I did."

"Hello Mr DiNozzo. Nice to see you again."

"And you, my dear." He leant down and pressed a sly kiss to Ziva's cheek, not bothering to notice his son's face flush with momentary fury. Ziva however noticed, and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"So, you and the lovely Ziva are dating I see? You told me you weren't."

"That's because we weren't when you last saw me, Dad."

"I see. How have you been, my adorable Israeli?"

Tony tried to calm himself, preventing his mind from forcing him to punch his father for trying to hit on his wife.

"I have been wonderful since I started dating your son, over a year ago."

"Well, I'm glad Junior has someone as beautiful as you to take care of him. Which is a shame for me."

"Yes. We make it work."

Before his father could destroy his ego anymore, Tony stepped in the conversation. "Look. There's something you ought to know, Dad."

"What is it, Junior?"

"Ziva and I are married. And we are having twin girls in October."

"Why didn't you tell me, Junior?"

"Just didn't." He muttered under his breath, moving closer to Ziva to comfort himself.

"I'd like to talk to you, Junior. Over here?" Tony sighed deeply, regrettably letting go of his wife's hand, before following Senior to the ballroom. "What do you think you're playing at, Junior?"

"What? I'm here for your wedding, with my wife. There a crime against that?"

"Don't speak to me like that, Junior."

"Then, what do you want me to do!"

"Why is it, you always gotta upstage me, Junior?"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"You. Already married. Got kids coming. Trying to get one over on me!"

"Why would I do that, Dad! Huh?"

"This is ridic-"

"NO DAD! I married Ziva, because I love her. And we're having kids, because we love each other! I'd never marry out of spite, or to pull one over! Don't you dare, say anything like that to me. Ever. Again. We clear!"

"I said don't speak to me like that Junior!"

"I'll speak to you, however DAMN WELL I WANT!"

"SHOW ME SOME RESPECT FOR ONCE JUNIOR!"

"HOW ABOUT I LEAVE? YOU'D LIKE THAT!"

"WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS, JUNIOR?"

Tony took a few calming breaths, attempting to swallow the anger he felt was rising. "Where's my next step mother? What is she, the ninth?"

"So, what if she is!"

"Then maybe, I should chat with her? Tell her, what Senior is really like?"

"What have I ever done to you, Junior?"

"I wasn't even gonna come. My wife is the sole reason I'm here."

"What has gotten into you!"

"You know what you did, the last time I came here, eleven years ago."

"Get over that Junior! I'm not here to do that to you again!"

Tony laughed, finding his father's remark stupid and unconvincing. "You are to go nowhere near Ziva. Ever. Understand me?"

"What if I don't stay away?"

"You know, what I'd do. And I wouldn't think twice."

Over in the lounge, the majority of the guests had the heard the heated argument and gossip was spreading like wildfire. Ziva was sat on the couches with Vincenzo and Sophie. She was still trying to convince them to let her talk to Tony.

"I should get Tony. He needs me."

"No. Dear. Leave him be."

"Sophie! You don't understand. I am the only one, who can calm him when he is like this. Please. Sophie, Vincenzo, let me go to him."

She had a stern, fierce look in her eyes, one that said 'Don't fight me on this.' "Soph. Let her go. Tony needs her."

"Vinnie... Ok."

Ziva shot up, walking towards the ballroom. The voices of her husband and father-in-law growing louder.

"That was one time Junior! It's not going to happen again!"

"CAN YOU BLAME ME FOR THINKING OTHERWISE!"

A soft voice sounded behind them, and a hand placed itself, on Tony's shoulder. He'd known she was there, the minute she entered the ballroom. He'd felt her presence. "Tony?"

He dropped his head, and put his hand over hers, on his shoulder. "I don't care what you do anymore Dad. I'm gonna spend some time with my wife."

He turned away from his father; and pulled Ziva out of the room. He kept their hands tightly interlocked, as he led them both upstairs, when they got into their room; Ziva locked the door, leaning against it.

"That was quite an argument."

There was a minutes silence before he confirmed her unanswered question. "Yeah."

"You want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "No. I just, want you."

"You want sympathy sex?"

"You sound surprised by that."

"No. I just asked a question. Still want me?"

He looked her up and down before gently easing her into his lap. "Yes."

He kissed her slowly, cupping her cheeks in his gentle, large palms. They fell back softly against the bed, their lips still connected. They quickly undressed each other, Tony feeling slightly relieved when he entered Ziva. He held her hand throughout, wanting a sense of comfort; a sharp gasp escaped Ziva when he hit her weak spot roughly, but they moved in perfect harmony, in a way partners should.

"I love you, Ziva." He whispered through jagged breaths, as he collapsed beside her, drawing her close to him.

"I love you."

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><p><strong>Part Dos is completo! I'm sure Tony and Ziva would keep their guns to themselves if you left a review? =]<strong>


	19. Engagement party: Part Tress

**So, Senior isn't in this chapter. I haven't decided whether, to make him pop up again before the wedding. Suggestions on that, anyone? Yes or No?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters.**

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><p>When they returned downstairs; everyone was silent, staring the couple down, as they came through the lounge, taking in their slightly dishevelled appearance. They were about to head towards one of the empty of couches, but were stopped in their tracks by Seniors fiancée Ashley, who pushed herself into Tony's personal space, taking little to no notice of Ziva.<p>

"Hey. I'm Ashley. You must be Anthony's son."

"Wow. What made it obvious?"

She giggled in the typical school girl crush way, touching his arm. He quickly shrugged her off, holding Ziva's hand tighter than before, needing her, despite the fact she hadn't moved.

"Oh. You're so strong. Do you work out?"

"For my wife. And my wife alone." He put an emphasis on the word 'wife' each time, hoping she'd get the point and back off.

"You're married?" Nor her voice or expression showed that she was shocked, Ashley was aware of what she was doing.

"Yeah. To Ziva." He pulled her closer, using his free hand to point to her. "Right here. Next to me."

"Ziva! Ha. What kind of name is that?"

"It is Israeli. If you do not watch your back, I will BREAK IT! Stay away from my husband."

Ashley smirked, turning to face Ziva, squaring her up. "You should be careful then hunnie. I'm gonna be your new mother-in-law. Play nice."

"Never hit on my husband again, and I'll consider it. If not, your death will come sooner than you think."

Ashley then turned back to Tony, pouting, searching for sympathy. "Don't look at me. I'm backing my wife on this one."

The bride-to-be huffed and stormed off, leaving the couple alone. Feeling angry still, Tony dragged his wife over to a seat, and sat down, placing his head in his hands, leaving Ziva to rub soothing circles on his back. It seemed to calm him a little; she felt the muscles in his back relax under her touch. She leaned against him, her head close to his.

"I'm sorry. Never should have come here." He whispered, so only she could him.

"Do not be sorry. I have enjoyed meeting your aunt and uncle."

"I just knew he would do this. Argue with me. Cause me stress. It was a bad idea from the get-go."

"Do not let what your father said, ruin this engagement party. The wedding is not for a few weeks yet, anyway. Besides, have you not loved seeing your family?"

"Yeah."

"Then focus on the positive's of this weekend, rather than the negative. You can do this, my little hairy butt. I know you can."

Across the room, Vincenzo and Sophie were closely observing the couple.

"They really are each other's rock, huh Soph?"

"They love each other Vin. What else can you say?" She raised her glass to her lips, taking a long sip of her white wine, savouring the taste, whilst waiting for her husband to respond to her.

"Well, that much is obvious. Like, love at first sight."

"Thought you didn't believe in that kinda thing, Vin?"

He shrugged, "I married you, didn't I?"

She smirked in his direction, before re-observing her nephew and his wife. "It's amazing how calm she keeps him."

"Some women, really have the power to keep their men in control, you know."

Sophie raised her eyebrows; "Get that outta women's magazines?"

"My own observation, sweetheart."

"Yeah, well. Observation or not dear; being here is not good for him."

"Tone's tough. Ziva is good for him. I know it wasn't his choice to come here, but she'll hold him up."

"That boy has been through so much Vin. Your brother has not been there for him; that's why I haven't seen my nephew for over a decade!"

"Calm down Soph. Tony's much happier now. Maybe not seeing him for so long was a good thing. I mean, look at what he has now. A beautiful wife. Two girls on the way. He's done so well, without his Dad."

"We should have raised him, once his mother died."

"Soph." His voice was laced with warning, hoping to stop his wife from ranting over something, he'd heard so often over the last 20 odd years.

"No. His father shopped him off to boarding schools and military schools. He could have had a better family life, if we'd taken him in, and raised him with Thomas."

"Look, hun, listen. Yeah, he's had a tough time of it. But that's the past. Let him deal with it. He'll ask, if he wants our suggestion. I know you only want, what's best. But at the minute sweetheart; his wife is the best thing for him, and we should leave it to her to handle him."

"But-"

"Soph. Drop it sweetheart, please? I promise I'll have a discreet word with Ziva about him, ok?"

"Alright. Can I have another glass of white?"

"Yeah." He took her glass, before wandering back to the kitchen.

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><p>"Thank you." He looked up at her.<p>

"That is what I am here for." He leaned forward, and gently kissed her lips, a short and sweet gesture.

"You're my rock. Do you know that?" He whispered those words so softly against her lips, it felt like his words had passed by in a gust of summer wind.

"I hold you together, yes?"

"Yeah. You do. I'd be lost without you."

"We are part of each other. That is what partners are about." She stroked his cheek lovingly, watching as he instinctively leaned into her touch, not caring who was watching.

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><p><strong>Another chapter to go on the engagement party... Woh. Soo much drama here.<strong>


	20. Engagement party: Part Cuatro

**Okay, so I changed my mind a few times over this chapter, and split it into two parts. Rather than just one, it would have been too long. Thank you soo much to everyone's lovely reviews. I appreciate them, so thank you. So, readers. Away!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters.**

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><p>The babies had been pushing on Ziva's bladder most of the afternoon, causing her to separate from Tony for a while, leaving Vincenzo to talk to his nephew.<p>

"Tony? You alright?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks. Uncle Vincenzo."

"That sounded like a seriously personal argument. What was it about?"

"He did something that caused me embarrassment, and I couldn't speak to or see him after that. I was reminded of it, every time."

"What'd he do to you?"

"You uh- You remember, my fourth step-mom? Louise?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"He wasn't hers. Not at first."

"Are you saying what I think what you're saying?"

"Yeah. That's what he did. Made my girlfriend my mom."

"I'll kill him." Vincenzo was about to stand up, before Tony grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him back.

"Uncle Vincenzo. Please don't. Don't fight my battle for me. It's too pathetic as it is. No point getting more people involved."

His Uncle sighed, before sitting down beside him again. "Whether or not you think it's pathetic, he had no right to do that to you, son."

"Yeah well, as long as he doesn't do it to me again."

"That's why you warned him to stay away from Ziva."

"Yeah. I don't want him anywhere near her. I just- I can't."

Tony's voice broke, causing Vincenzo to put an arm around his shoulder, consoling him. "You don't have to forgive him. I don't expect you to."

"I couldn't forgive him for this. I haven't seen him. I never gave him the chance to apologise, which I doubt he would now."

"After everything he put you through Tone, it would take him light years of grovelling to become a decent enough human being again."

Tony genuinely smiled a little at his Uncle's statement. It was true after all; his father had caused harm when he was a boy. It's not something that could be easily forgotten or forgiven. "It's been torture seeing him. Just swaggering around. Acting like nothing ever happened between us, like he never did what he did to me eleven years ago or even what he did to me when..." He trailed off, not capable of carrying on with the sentence, too much pain rising up in his throat.

"Tony. It's ok. Your aunt and I are here, no matter what. Remember Nonna's on your side too."

Vincenzo had noticed that Ziva had come back into the lounge, and was concerned with why Tony looked close to a minor breakdown.

"Do you mind if I speak to your wonderful wife for a minute, son?"

Tony looked up, to see Ziva's concerned expression, before nodding towards his Uncle. "Sure."

"I will be right back, Tony." Her voice was soft, worried and reassuring all in one go.

Vincenzo pulled Ziva into the privacy of the large, empty hallway. "What is wrong with Tony? Is he alright?"

"That argument with his father was very personal, sweetheart."

"I gathered. That is why; he is being so closed off."

"That's something you need to discuss with Tony. I'm sure you know how, to get him to open up?"

She nodded weakly. "Yes. I have a few tricks. Why? What has his father done to him?"

"Put it this way dear; his father has done an awful lot, he never should have done. Making up, doesn't begin to cover it."

"I will always take care of him. No matter the consequence."

"I know he'd do the same for you."

She smiled fondly, agreeing fully with the statement. "He needs me. Excuse me." Vincenzo nodded, watching her pass him by, treading towards her husband. He couldn't help but watch in awe, how she took it in her stride, and held Tony up, becoming his leaning post within a matter of seconds.

"Are you alright?"

"Once we go home. I'll be great."

"So you are not." She held his hands tighter in hers, rubbing her fingers smoothly over his knuckles.

"Sorry."

"You cannot help the way you feel."

Before Tony could respond to his wife, a young girl and boy skipped towards them. "To-nee!" The partners whirled around to the young children now facing them.

"Hey guys." The children launched themselves at Tony, attacking him with tight hugs. They pulled away from him, big grins on their faces. "Who dat?" The young girl pointed towards Ziva.

"Elena. It's not nice to point." Tony lightly scolded her, before smiling again. "This sweetie; is my wife, Ziva."

"You're pretty Zia."

"Thank you Elena."

"What bout me?"

"Zi, this is Jacob. He and Elena are seven years old."

"It is nice to meet you both." The children held out their hands, expecting Ziva to shake them, which she did.

"Where's your mom, kids?"

"She talks to great unce Vinsenio."

Ziva grabbed on to Tony's arm, appearing to the children as if she were to cuddle him, and pulled him towards her, whispering in his ear. "Vincenzo?"

"Yeah." He whispered back.

"To-nee?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"You play soccer wid me?" Jacob was grinning from ear to ear, smiling innocently up at the adults.

"Do you mind, honey?" She kissed his lips, providing him a silent answer. "Ok then. That's settled. Elle, you wanna play too?"

"Yah!" The children bounced with excitement, running off to the garden, ready to play soccer.

"Go." Ziva softly prodded him, smiling as he scooted off to play. She stood wandering towards the large glass doors that led to the patio and garden, a ghosting smile presenting in her features. She adored the way that Tony played with Elena and Jacob; she couldn't help but let her thoughts plague her. _What was Tony going to be like when their daughters are born? Will he be so loving and tender with them? How is he going to be, watching them grow up with her? _She had no doubts; he'd be an amazing father, more so than he was a partner to her.

After a half hour of watching him play happily with the children; Tony Senior made a reappearance. Tony had decided he would talk to his father one last time, before concluding whether to stay or go home.

"Well, here goes."

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><p><strong>Now, it will be one more chapter on the engagement party. I won't drag it on forever. I do that enough in my damn coursework as it is. Thanks for reading. And the review button awaits you! =]<strong>


	21. Engagement party: Part Cinco

**Yes, I know. Its been such a long time since I updated this story. But college took over and other things happened at home and I got pulled away. Then I joined Tumblr (sarcasticmcgeek), and I was a little obsessed with that, and I lost focus of this story. But here is the next chapter, and I promise to update more frequently.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, but Jacob, Elena and the DiNozzo babas! :)**

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><p>Ziva held her breath, waiting for another argument, any sign of distress, in which she should pull her husband out immediately.<p>

For the time being, there was no need for her to intervene.

"You uh-ok, Junior?"

Senior was stood in the archway entrance to the lounge, a glass of scotch in his hand, intently watching his son. Most of the family members were observing the father and son, intrigued whether this was to be good or bad.

"Yeah."

Sophie, Vincenzo and Ziva were stood quietly and patiently by the patio doors, watching the lack thereof interaction between the DiNozzo men.

"Listen Dad, um... What happened between us earlier..." Tony hesitated in conversation, slowly building up on what he wanted to say.

"What about it?" Seniors tone was slightly sarcastic and had an egocentric undertone.

Tony's anger began boiling inside him, and he couldn't prevent his outburst. "So, it's all about you now!"

"It is my engagement party Junior! Not everything's about you."

"It's never been about me since mom died!"

Senior raised his hand, pointing his finger towards Tony accusingly. "Don't you dare, bring her into this. She'd be disappointed in you!"

"No. She wouldn't. Mom. She would be proud of me, for standing up to you, for once."

"I knew your mother."

"I could say the same thing." Ziva was ready to pounce any second, what she'd heard so far, she didn't like. It was heading in a bad direction. She could feel it in her gut, it churned. Her husband was heading for some major emotional exposure, and she had to stop it, and soon. "She warned me. Right before she died on her deathbed! I was a kid, Dad. Mom warned me, to protect myself. I should have listened to her... She was right. All along."

"I knew what was best for you, after your mother died."

"After what you did to me... How can you say that was right for me?" Tony knew his father wouldn't answer him. He knew he couldn't. There was no possible, feasible answer for that question. "You can't, can you?" Senior remained silent, rather shocked at his son's outburst. "CAN YOU!"

"No." Senior whispered.

"I should have known you'd never change."

"Junior."

Tony shook his head in anger and disappointment several times. "No. Ziva and I are leaving today... I can't stay here anymore. It's too hard, Dad... I'll come to the wedding. But that's it, for now. That's all I can take."

That was all Tony had in him; and he turned around quickly, searching for his wife's face and hers alone. She was his rock, and she was the only thing he needed now. He was pleased to see her walking towards him, despite everyone in the room watching him; she was the only one he saw. When they were both within whispering ear shot of each other, Ziva looked up at him, holding her hand out.

"Come on." Her expression was reassuring, and that was what he required in that moment. The entire DiNozzo famiglia watched as Tony was removed from the lounge by his wife. Some were surprised; whereas others merely gave acknowledging nods before acting as though nothing happened, leaving Senior, shell shocked at his son's actions.

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><p>Upstairs, Tony was angrily thrashing his and Ziva's case around the bed, needing to vent his frustration on something. Ziva waited til most of his anger was out, before intervening, grabbing him quickly and thrusting him forwards into her, hugging him tightly. He fought for a few seconds, before relenting, silently crying in her arms. In response, she held him tighter; giving him comfort.<p>

"Tony." She pulled his head off her shoulder, cupping his tear stained cheeks in her hands. He was still looking down, refusing to meet her gaze. "Look at me. Please." After a little physical coaxing, he did lift his head, his red ringed eyes meeting hers. "That was difficult for you."

She had meant it as a statement; however, he weakly nodded his head. "I am proud of you, Tony." She stroked her hands along his cheeks, the moisture of his tears sticking to her skin. "You stood up to your father. That is more than I, have ever done, with mine."

"He hurt me, so much." His voice was broken due to the sobs he had beforehand, but he attempted to pull himself together.

"Fathers, they, they make mistakes. Mistakes that, require a lot of, forgiving. Whatever happened, you may forgive him, or, you may not. That is down to you. And, if you let me, I will support you, whatever you choose to do."

"Thank you." She smiled in response, letting him see her acknowledgement.

"What do you say; we pack our bags and head home?"

He whispered the words gently, a weakened but genuine small smile on his face. "That's the best news I've heard all day."

"I am glad I could be the one to put that smile on your face."

"You always make me smile. Always." She gently leant forward and kissed him on the lips, a little reassurance that everything would be alright between them soon. When they pulled apart, Ziva grabbed the case from the bed, opening it out, she moved in sync with a slightly distanced Tony, placing their clothes back into the case.

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><p>It took all of a half hour, before they came trudging down the large staircase, Tony carrying their suitcase, Ziva holding their carry-on against her shoulder. They had both changed into more comforting clothes, considering they were going to be driving for a while back down to DC.<p>

Vincenzo and Sophie were waiting by the door, Jacob and Elena innocently swaying in front of them, wondering why _their_ Tony was leaving.

Tony and Ziva quietly set their bags down, watching as Jacob and Elena launched forward at Tony, curling around his legs. "To-nee! Why you go?"

He placed his hands on each of the children's shoulders, slowly prying them off him. "Ziva and I need to leave. Tony's unhappy here. Sorry sweetie."

That only made the children, cling tighter to his legs. "Don't go. We miss you."

"Elle, Jake. Come on now, Tony wants to leave, and he and Ziva gotta get home so they can rest before Ziva has the babies." Uncle Vincenzo successfully pulled the children away, a gloomy looking Jacob and a teary eyed Elena staring up at the couple before them.

"I promise you will see me and Ziva at the wedding in a few weeks time, ok?"

"Double promise?"

"Double promise buddy." Sophie ushered the children into the lounge, preventing them from upsetting themselves further.

"I'm damn proud of ya Tone."

"Yeah." Sophie had returned to the hallway once more, intent on saying goodbye to her nephew and Ziva.

"Remember, we are always here for you Anthony. No matter what. You have troubles, come to me and your Uncle Vinny, understand?"

"Thank you Aunt Sophie. But, I have a great family at NCIS that cares for me too. You'll always be the second on my list though." Sophie embraced Tony in a motherly hug, wiping away a few of her own tears before letting him go and turning to Ziva.

"Please, look after him dear."

Ziva nodded. "With my life."

They all said their goodbyes, with Vincenzo and Sophie promising to visit once the babies are born, hopefully sooner if they could. Vincenzo had told Tony that he didn't have to go to the wedding if he didn't want, and to think it over for the next week or so. He had promised to think about it, before he and Ziva finally left the house that had caused so much stress for them.

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><p><strong>Sorry its not that great, this is what part-time abandonment and writer's block will do to me. But I did my best, and this is the final part of the 'engagement party' chapters. Reviews are very welcomed. Thanks.<strong>


	22. Fathers, conversations and understanding

**Next chapter guys. :) This has a Tiva moment in there. However, this is more of a Ziva/Abby friendship chapter. Trying something new... Hope it worked.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. There's a long list of people who wish they did though. Sigh.**

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><p>It had been three days since Ziva and Tony had gone to his father's engagement party. Tony's mood had lifted, but only slightly, and Ziva was running out of ideas to cheer him up, or get through to him. Whilst relaxing on the couch, watching a movie together, she had decided to snap him out of his mood.<p>

"Tony?" She lifted her head from his chest, to observe his facial expressions, when she spoke to him.

"Mmm?" He continued his soft ministrations on her back.

"We need to talk about something." She sat up, preventing him from continuing the ministrations on her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. There is. With you." Tony remained silent. "Stop letting him get to you!" No response. "Tony, look at me." She lifted his head. "I want my Tony back... If he is in there, tell him, his wife needs him." Tony still remained silent, but his expression was changing. "I want MY funny, charming, sexy, prank-playing, co-worker insulting husband back. Your father does not matter Tony, you taught me that-"

She was abruptly cut off by his lips covering hers, in a hard but passionate kiss. His hands pulling her as close as he physically could. When they parted, he whispered apologies against her lips repeatedly. "I'm sorry. So sorry."

"I know. I've missed you."

"I'll never do that to you again. I promise." She knew it was more or less an empty promise. He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't act this way again, especially with the wedding coming up so soon.

"You are forgiven." She stood up, holding her hand out for him to take. "Come. We shall go to bed." He accepted her hand, feeling too exhausted to argue with her.

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><p>Whilst Tony was out that afternoon; Ziva had invited Abby round, out of boredom. They had been discussing plans for the babies, when Abby abruptly changed the subject.<p>

"Hey, so, how's Tony?"

Ziva shifted against the headboard of the bed, before relaxing and answering her friend's question. "He is on the fix."

Despite Ziva's consistent mix up with idioms, all her friends still developed confused gazes, before they realise what she meant, and correct her. "You mean mend?"

"Sure. I talked, he listened. He understands now." She cradled her stomach, shifting again. Being five months pregnant, she became easily uncomfortable because of the extra weight she was carrying.

"I'm glad he's back to normal. I missed the old Tony."

"So did I. The wedding is in three weeks though."

"You think his mood will drop again?"

"I'd consider it a possibility, yes."

"Poor Tony. What happened with his father? He seemed so nice, when he visited NCIS."

"I do not know, Abby. He is closed off." Ziva lied to her friend; Tony would not want her to say anything, until he was ready to speak to her; and as his wife, she'd respect his wishes. Besides, she wanted to know for herself first. She had heard some not nice things at the engagement party, but she intended to get the full story, and hopefully soon.

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Of course. But you know Tony, he will talk when he is ready, and I am not going to push him, until I feel it is necessary."

"I hope your right, Ziva. I mean, whatever happened clearly hurt him; and, I understand that you need to protect him, and, I guess, what I'm trying to say is-"

"Abby. I know what you meant, even if you did not. I will always protect him."

"Oh, I know you would. I don't doubt that. It's just that, I don't understand what's going on with him."

"He will talk in his own time."

Abby placed her hand on Ziva's leg, getting her to look up. "Will you tell me when he does?"

"If that is what Tony wants, then yes."

She removed her hand almost immediately, not really satisfied with the answer, but accepted it anyway. "Ok."

Ziva was quick to a subject change, sensing her friend's disappointment. "Anyway, how are things with you?"

"There good, thanks. I have a date on Friday."

Ziva's expression was one of surprise and curiosity. "Really? With who?"

"This guy called Jackson, I met a few weeks back, at a scientist convention in Las Vegas. He's a toxicologist is Baltimore."

"He is a scientist, like you, yes?" She had laced her statement as a question, wanting the confirmation that a toxicologist was in fact related to science in some way.

"Well, he's specified to one part of my science, but yeah, more or less. I'm excited, Ziva."

Ziva touched Abby's arm lightly, in a caring gesture. "I am very happy for you. Make sure he is good enough for you, otherwise, I cannot promise what harm I may cause him."

"I will don't worry. He seems like my perfect guy, you know? He understands me, and we both love science. I mean, how great is that?"

Ziva's mind instantly drifted to McGee. _He understands you Abby. _"I am glad you have someone, who has much in common with you."

"Me too. So, how are my nieces?"

"Ooo." Ziva's hands flew to her stomach, soothing the sensations of the twins kicking, getting them to calm down. "They are quite the active little ones today."

"Aww. Can I feel?"

"Yes, here." She grabbed Abby's hands, and placed it on her lower abdomen, where she felt the twins move most.

"Wow. They're really moving about in there."

"Yes. Tony calls them mini ninja's. Although, I am not sure why."

"That's adorable."

Ziva shrugged in agreement. "I am warming to it."

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><p>After driving around for a few hours, Tony found himself in his Boss' home, stepping into his basement as though to find advice, without really searching.<p>

"Boss?"

"Here."

He trudged down the last few steps, before coming in front of the desk, where scattered pieces of wood lay, a measuring tape and a bottle of bourbon. "New boat?"

"Will be." There was a significant silence, Gibbs poured them both some Bourbon, and handed Tony his glass, before silently asking him to sit down. "Something you wanted, DiNozzo?"

"Wanted a chat."

"Not the chatting type, DiNozzo."

He swirled the glass around in his hand softly, watching as the liquid swayed inside the confines of the small glass. "Yeah, I noticed. No one else though."

"What about your _wife_?" Gibbs put an emphasis on the word 'wife'. Tony recognised that his Boss was still warming up to the idea of his marriage to Ziva, despite it being nearly eight months since they wed. He still answered the question though.

"She thinks I'm fine."

"Shouldn't lie to her."

"I think she deserves better." His head dipped slightly in cohesion with his statement, finally feeling drained of every emotion he'd felt for the past couple of weeks.

"She won't take being lied to lightly." Gibbs preferred the direct approach when trying to snap Tony out of the trances he seemingly trapped himself in. Now more or less diverting the conversation, without changing the subject.

"I know. She made me feel better. But that feeling of disappointment and anger came back, the moment I left the house."

"It can't go away, just like that. Takes time."

"What do I do, Boss?" Gibbs was recognising the doubts in his senior field agent's words; he knew it hadn't been easy, the stress of his father had never been good on previous occasions, why would now be any different? He said the only sentence he knew was reasonable.

"Be there for your wife, focus on the pregnancy."

Tony shook his head several times, appearing as though, he disagreed with what his Boss said, despite the fact he didn't feel that way. "All I feel is hatred for my father and what he did. I don't wanna take that home to Ziva. She doesn't need the stress right now."

"Whether or not she needs it; she will want it. Let her have it. You two have always been like that."

"What if she won't forgive me, for lying to her?"

"You know her better than anyone. She'll understand your pain. She has father issues as well."

"I know. I know... I'm scared, you know? About being a father."

"Should be. Big change."

"I don't know if I'm ready. We're having twins. That's double the workload. Not sure if I can handle it."

"Every first time father feels that way."

"But how will I know? If I'll be a good father?"

"The minute their placed in your arms, and you see them watching you. That's when you'll know. All that stress and panic will be worth it. Just to see those precious eyes look at you every day."

He smiled. "Coming from experience, Boss?"

"Could be."

"Thanks Boss. I betta go." Tony necked the remainder of the drink, and moved over to the stairs, taking one step at a time.

"Tony?"

"Yeah Boss?"

"You'll be a great father. Trust me."

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><p><strong>Bit of a ZivaAbby friendship stuff there, and a Tony/Gibbs, kinda father/son conversation. I hope I did all characters justice! Reviews are welcomed as usual. Thanks. :)**


	23. The names of our wonders

**Here is the next chapter guys. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own NCIS or any of the characters.**

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><p>"Ziva? I'm home."<p>

"In the bedroom." Came her response about a minute later, from up the stairs.

He shrugged his bag and coat off, removing his gun, knife and shoulder holster. He had no clue as to why he had taken his weapons with him on his trip out. _Force of habit I guess, _he thought. He then padded upstairs, heading in the direction of the master bedroom; he smiled when he entered the room.

Ziva was stretched out on the bed in Tony's OSU sweats, with Abby sat beside her, both in a very animated conversation. After about a minute, Ziva lifted her head and locked onto her husband's loving, green eyes. It took Abby a short while to realise that he was here, and that he was the one Ziva was staring so intently at. She looked up, and saw both Ziva and Tony in a heavy, intense gaze; they looked pretty much ready to jump each other.

"I think, I should go." Abby grabbed her coat off the end of the bed, before turning back to see Ziva shaking herself out of her reverie.

"Sorry Abby. Yes, you can go. Thank you for coming."

"You're welcome. Had to talk to my nieces." She held her arms out, letting Ziva freely hug her. They embraced in a warm hug, when they parted Abby rubbed Ziva's stomach briefly saying goodbye to the twins.

"Thanks for keeping her company Abs."

Abby stood up, moving over to hug Tony. "It was my pleasure." She moved out of his embrace, ready to go. "Now, I have to go."

"Abby. Do not forget to let me know about Friday."

"I will Ziva. Promise. Bye guys." She waved them off, explaining that she'd let herself out.

Tony waited until he heard the front door close, before he spoke. "What do you mean, Friday?"

"Nothing. Girl stuff, that's all." She shrugged off the conversation, knowing he wouldn't want to know anyway.

"Thought married people don't keep secrets?" He toed off his shoes, leaving them by the corner of their large drawers to the right of the door.

"You want me to discuss, Abby's sex life with you?"

"Gross no. She's like my little sister." She smiled triumphantly, glad to have been proven right, but chose not to rub that concept in his face.

"Well, that is what we were talking about." She shifted on the bed again, her discomfort now becoming irritating, but she soon relaxed.

"I'd rather talk about our sex life." She rolled her eyes, but had expected him to come out with a comment like that.

"Huh. I thought you preferred to actually have sex?" She chose to retaliate, joining in with his clearly flirtatious mood.

"Well, what man could resist making love to you?"

The comment had made her stomach flutter a little, but she refused to let him know that. "Flattery will get you nowhere, sweetheart."

"Not even a quickie?"

"A quickie is like a godsend in some cases for you; so not even that."

He smiled momentarily, before his emotions did a quick change, and he gained an apologetic expression. "Uh Ziva... I'm sorry."

She grew confused. "For what?"

"You may take this the wrong way."

"Tony. Sit here." He agreed, gathering Ziva's hands in his. "Whatever it is, I will still love you."

"I went to see Gibbs earlier." She gave him a look telling him to continue. "I had a good chat; he listened, and gave me some advice and support. It was weird but welcomed. I was still upset about my father."

"Tony. You told me you were alright."

"I was. I. I am happy, with you. Just got worked up about him again. You had Abby coming over; and I didn't want to burden you with my crap."

Ziva lifted one of her hands in his, and tentatively stroked his cheek; "Tony, do not ever think your emotions are a burden on me. You of all should understand I have father issues. I understand the pain, the anger and disappointment they bring. I love you, Tony. Whatever happens, we will get through it together."

Tony leaned forward and kissed her gently, squeezing her hands softly as he did. "I really do love you." He breathed against her lips, his words coursing vibrations through her.

"I know you do."

He felt a tiny kick from the right side of his wife's abdomen. "I felt that. The kids are a little active today. You been teaching them ninja tricks?" He smirked at her, the feeling of his daughters moving around had made him feel better.

"I am glad you are feeling better. And yes, they have been like this most of the afternoon, they have stopped now though."

"Coz they know to listen to Daddy."

"I think they are just exhausted from kicking me all day." She exclaimed with a hint of frustration.

"Hey. I know it must be uncomfortable, but it will all be worth it. Trust me."

"I do trust you. I always have."

"You know I was thinking-"

She leaned forward, cutting him off, her lips tantalizingly close to his. "That is never a good thing." She whispered teasingly.

Tony smirked at her, before returning to his conquest of a conversation. "Maybe, we should start thinking of names? For the twins?"

She leaned back, resting against the headboard once more. "I suppose. What have you come up with?"

"Well, I came up with some Hebrew names for them." He emphasized _them, _by rubbing his hand along her stomach.

"They are?"

"Hannah."

"That is a nice name. It means the grace of god."

Tony smiled, quite surprised by the meaning behind the name he had chosen. "These two certainly are our little graces aren't they?"

"That they are."

"Ok. Next name. Sarah?"

"Not Sarah."

"Why not?"

"It is McGee's sister's name. Besides, Sarah DiNozzo sounds weird."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does. Next one."

"Ok then. Aaliyah?"

He watched as her face lit up, clearly very happy with the name choice. "Aaliyah. That is wonderful. We just need an Italian name to go with it."

"What about Grace? I once da- You know that's not important."

"Aaliyah Grace DiNozzo. What a name! It is perfect, yes?" He cupped her face and gave her a chaste kiss.

"I thought so." She pulled away from his lips, but not his embrace.

"We just need some names for our second wonder."

"Right. I came up with Illiana and Georgia."

Ziva considered these two names for a minute or two before she responded; "I like the name Georgia-" She paused in conversation to take a large yawn, her exhaustion showing. "But not the name Illiana."

Tony noticed this, and decided to end the discussion there. "Ok. Why don't you get some sleep? I'm just gonna go downstairs for a while."

She grabbed onto his wrist before he stood from their bed. "No. Stay."

He couldn't deny her the comfort he seemingly provided; her eyes were tired, but determined to make him stay with her. It's what she wanted after all. He relented. "Let me lock up first. Then I'll be right back. I promise." He cupped her cheek, and ran his fingers lightly across her skin. "Get some sleep."

She nodded in agreement. "Yes." She gave him a peck on the cheek, then climbed under the covers, settling down for the night. "Goodnight Tony."

"I'll be back in a minute."

He highly doubted she'd notice his return now; she seemed so close to sleep already. "Ok." Her voice was less than a whisper now, mostly muffled by the confines of the quilt.

It took him a few minutes to bolt the door and check over the house, before his return to the master bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers, and grabbed a t-shirt from one of the drawers, pulling it over him; then slipped into bed beside his wife, gently spooning her from behind. She instantly curled backwards into him; he smiled and tightened his hold on her. "Goodnight Zi. Babies."

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><p><strong>So, one name is decided for one of the twins. The other one will be left undecided for now. Suggestions are welcomed if you wish. I'm open to anything. Thanks for reading.<strong>


	24. What are you going to do?

**I just couldn't find the inspiration to write this story for so long; but I promise, I have at least five new chapters written for you guys, and I'm going to get back on track with this story now, no word of a lie.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, or any of the characters, apart from the unborn DiNozzo baba's. :)**

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><p><em>Previously, on NCIS. Tony got a call from his father, saying he's getting re-married. Ziva and Tony headed up to New York for the engagement party, and got a little more than they bargained for. They returned home, and are starting to get back to normal.<em>

"How's he doing?"

Ziva stretched backwards in the plastic back chair, trying to gain some feel in her numb spine, whilst soothing the aches in her stomach. "He is getting better. But, his father's wedding is coming up. It may take a while, for him, to be back to his usual self."

"Thought you just went to that?"

"No. It was the engagement party. Tony made a promise he would be there; and he is not one to break promises, when it comes to family. No matter if he wants to, deep down."

"So what you going to do?"

She sighed, shifting her position again. "I do not know. His father is not, his favourite person."

"Gathered that." She shifted once more, earning a concerned look from her Boss. "Uncomfortable?"

"Yes. I feel like one of the babies is pressing against my bladder, it makes me want to pee."

Ziva watched as a ghost of a smile graced Gibbs face, for less than a second, her catching it in a fleeting glance. "So what you going to do?" He repeated.

She sighed, creating possible answers in her head, before choosing the most suitable for her. "I will be, his partner. That would be best."

"For him or you?"

"Beneficial to both of us, but mostly for him."

He noticed her longing expression for his candy bar, and broke off half for her, handing it over. She smiled and accepted it willingly.

"Thank you." She munched on the chocolate with a mass of adoration, the sweet taste savouring on her tongue.

"When is it?"

Her previous train of thought was forgotten, and she grew confused over Gibbs question, having not remembered the conversation they just had. "What?"

"DiNozzo's wedding."

"Oh. Two weeks on Saturday. It will be, a very, long day for Tony."

"Have his six, when your there."

"I always do." She took the final bite of the candy bar, swallowing, before speaking again. "You are worried about him."

"He needs emotional protection."

Her expression dropped, closing off, not willing to show her clear upset, that her Boss was hinting that he was unsure whether; she could handle her own husband's emotions. "You do not think I could handle him?"

"I know you can. Don't want him to lose sight of what's important."

Her confusion was evident in her face now, her brows knitting together, squinting towards Gibbs slightly. "The team?"

"You and the babies."

"Oh. Right."

The conversation was abruptly stopped from going any further, when a shrill ringing in Gibbs pocket filled the break room with noise.

"Yeah Gibbs?"

"_Got a breakthrough on the case Boss."_

"Be right there." He clicked his phone shut, before standing up, holding his hand out for Ziva to take.

"Gibbs?"

"May have solved the case. I need you fully up to speed. Come on."

She accepted his hand, letting him pull her up. They headed down to the bullpen together; McGee was stood by the plasma, whilst Tony was making a phone call. Ziva was happy to see him with a small smile, but also a little curious as to why he had.

"McGee, what'd ya got?"

"Uh. I managed to follow a money trail. The Commander has been receiving 10,000 dollars, every month for the past year. It's been coming from an off-shore account. I can't yet trace the account, the frequency is constantly bounced around, and I lose a signal."

"Get DiNozzo. Go pick him up." Luckily, Tony had just finished his phone call, and was grabbing his coat and gun, already heading for the elevator.

"McGoo, what are you waiting for?" McGee merely rolled his eyes in response, and followed his co-worker quickly.

Ziva suddenly shot up, just as Tony and McGee were getting in the elevator, she passed them by in a hurry.

"Ziva? Where you going?"

"I have to pee!"

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><p>A half hour later, McGee and Tony returned to the bullpen, the Commander in cuffs, shooting his mouth off. Tony was the first to voice his annoyance.<p>

"Hey! If you don't shut it, I'll set my very dangerous, pregnant wife on you." At that point Ziva looked up at her co-workers, before smirking then rolling her eyes playfully.

"Her? As if. She can't harm me." Tony quickly identified the look of sheer annoyance on his wife's face, if she was about to do, what he thought she was, he needed to back away and rather fast.

"McGee stand back." Tony immediately warned his co-worker. As soon as he stepped back, Ziva swiftly kicked the Commander in his crotch, satisfied when he fell, a pained un-manly squeal following. "Tried to warn ya."

She grabbed the suspects chin, forcing his head upwards. "Do not; underestimate an ex- Israeli Mossad officer. Are we clear, Commander?"

"Yes Ma'am." They watched as her expression darkened, knowing she didn't like being called Ma'am, Tony ordered McGee to take the Commander down to interrogation, before Ziva could cause some actual damage.

"Easy Ziva. Come on. Sit down, please?"

"I am fine." He gave her an unbelieving look, waiting for her to relent and sit down, which took less time than he thought it would. "Why was the Commander blowing his mouth off?"

"Shooting his mouth off." He simply couldn't help the correction, it was basically a natural impulse he had with her.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"The Commander refused to come in voluntarily; on grounds we don't have sufficient evidence to question him."

"But McGee proved that the Commander was receiving $10,000 per month from an off- shore account, that links him to the victim."

"Yeah. He chose not to answer our questions, Gibbs said to arrest him if necessary. This is necessary." She nodded, shuffling some papers on her desk, before opening the case file, Gibbs had given her earlier. "You been ok?"

"I have been fine." She lifted her eyes to meet his, watching as he perched himself on the edge of her desk, blocking her computer screen from her. "Why?"

"You just seem, in discomfort."

"It is part of the pregnancy Tony, you know that. It's something I have to deal with."

"I'm sorry I'm putting you through this pain."

"I am not, once we have our girls." She grabbed his free hand and linked it with hers over her partially raised stomach, where their children lay, emphasizing her point to him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Kinda glad to be back on track with this story again. Thought I lost my mojo with it. Hopefully not, huh?**


	25. We need evidence! Fast!

**Next chapter is up. I have a huge gap in this and the next chapter, so I'm having to write several new ones in order for it to work. But don't worry, its smooth sailing so far.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, nor any of the characters. I also do not know how far away Baltimore is from DC, or whether there actually is a cafe named Sorso. I did some research but not much. So I do not own Sorso, if it is real.**

* * *

><p>The lab was booming with excitement; Brain Matter was blasting through the stereo, several machines were beeping, and Abby was bouncing off the walls with a smile on her face, and a body hyped up on Caf-Pow!<p>

McGee covered his ears when he walked into the lab, the music too high; and began shouting Abby's name over the noise, to gain her attention. "ABBY!"

She came to a halt, and gave a sympathetic look, whilst she turned the music down. "Sorry McGee. What's up?"

"Came to see whether you could get a fix on that signal for that off- shore account? Gibbs has a suspect in interrogation; we kinda need something to nail him."

She quickly rushed over to the computers, and began typing. "Ok. It's been taking me a while to secure a fix, before it bounces and I lose it. I eventually tracked the signal to a Sorso cafe in Baltimore."

"Ok. Forward the co-ordinates to Tony and Ziva. We'll need CCTV."

"I already have McGee."

"Oh. I'll get back upstairs and try to find anything more on our Commander then."

McGee slowly trailed out of the lab; he got as far as pressing the button for the elevator, before Abby called him back. He quickly turned back, half expecting her to say she had found something else, to help the case.

"Yeah Abs?"

"Can I talk to you, for a sec?"

"Umm, sure." Abby nodded silently; and fiddled with her hula girl from her dashboard, refusing to meet Tim's eyes. "You going to talk?"

"Ok... Umm- I've been seeing someone." She shut her eyes tightly, afraid to look directly at him.

"Abby. Please open your eyes."

She shook her head vigorously, and tightened her hold on the hula girl, holding it close to her chest in a protective manner. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't wanna see the damage I've caused."

"Abby. Look at me." She slowly cracked open one eye, then realising that McGee didn't appear mad or upset, she opened her other, and turned to face him fully. "See? I'm fine."

"Ok. Umm. I'm sorry, Timmy."

"I don't expect you to apologise for wanting a live outside of work Abby."

"I know but, I feel like I'm letting you down. I mean, it's only been a few weeks. And, I like him. He's a toxicologist, and he's from Baltimore. And he's-"

"Abby! Stop. You're rambling."

"I just don't want to hurt your feelings."

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

She then launched herself at McGee, thrusting her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly to her. "Thank you Timmy. I hope you find someone amazing too."

He lightly pressed his hand against her lower back in response. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>"Tony, how much longer?"<p>

"A few minutes, why?"

She shifted in her seat, tugging on the seat belt, to ease the pressure on her stomach. "I have to pee."

"Again? You've gone three times since we left the Navy yard over an hour ago."

"Do not blame me! You caused this!"

"Hey! Takes two to tango."

"Do not change the subject to confuse me."

"I didn't change the subject."

"Gas station. Pull over Tony." He sighed heavily, and signalled left, pulling into the gas station. He barely had time to park before Ziva rushed out of the car, running to the restrooms.

He placed his head back against the seat; and closed his eyes, trying to rest. He hadn't realised he'd dozed off, until he felt his wife stick her tongue in his ear, jolting him awake. "Gah!"

"Good. You are awake."

"Yeah. Thanks for that." He rubbed his ear, quickly drying it with the edge of his coat sleeve.

"We must go to the cafe Tony."

"Right."

It took them a further half hour to arrive at the Sorso cafe, near the marina, when Ziva felt a strange twitch in her lower stomach. Her hands instantly flew to her partially raised stomach, which caused Tony's concerns to rise almost immediately.

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded weakly, then grabbed his hand, placing it below hers on her lower abdomen. He frowned when he felt it. "What was that?"

"I do not know. Perhaps a hiccup?"

"Maybe. We could ask Dr. Johnson next Thursday at your appointment."

"Yes. Let's go."

Inside the cafe, they were greeted by a young waitress, who looked to be only just leaving her teens, possibly a student. She had disappeared a few minutes ago to get her manager, so Tony and Ziva could get the CCTV tapes for Abby to analyse back at the lab. When the young woman returned, she was accompanied by a shorter, dark haired woman in her 50s.

"Melanie Devers. Can I help you, officers?"

"NCIS. Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David." They both simultaneously flashed their badges to the manager; before placing them back in their pockets.

"What can I do for NCIS?"

"Have you seen this man in here before? Perhaps in the last two weeks?" Ziva lifted the photo upwards, showing the Commander that they had back at base in a holding cell.

"Umm, yes. I think I have seen him twice in the last week. Why? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, Ms. Devers. We believe he may have been using one of your computers."

"Well, that's what this cafe was set up for, despite the delicious coffee and treats."

"Do you know if he was alone or with company on both occasions that you saw him Ms. Devers?"

"Alone. That much I'm sure. Is he in some kind of trouble? Your tones don't make it sound good for this young man."

"We cannot discuss an open investigation."

The manager sighed, and pushed her glasses atop her head, pinching the bridge of her nose lightly.

"We'll need any security tapes you have on the 4th, 7th and 14th of this month that the Commander was here."

"I'll see what I can do. Just give me one moment."

Whilst Tony decided to poke his nose around the remainder of the cafe; Ziva decided to question the young waitress. "Do you have a moment-?"

"Ashley Wickett, Ma'am."

"Ashley. Have you seen this man before?" She once again pulled out the photo of the Commander, trying to gauge a reaction.

The young girl tensed for a second before composing herself, and shook her head adamantly at Ziva. "No. I haven't seen him before. Has he done something wrong?"

Ziva noticed the young waitress tense, and tried a soft approach. "That cannot be discussed. You are positive you have never seen the Commander in this cafe in the past week or the week before last?"

"No! I just told you that. I don't know who he is, nor have I ever seen him!"

The sudden outburst confirmed a gut feeling Ziva had, that the young waitress was clearly lying. Tony had jogged over to his partner through all the commotion, and checked to see what was going on.

"Is everything alright here?"

"Fine, sir. I'm sorry. I'm very tired, and I can't wait to go home. I've just done a treble shift."

The agents had no time to respond before the manager returned with several tapes in her hands, and quickly passed them over, before bidding goodbye.

Back in the car, Ziva called Gibbs with an update. "Gibbs. We have the security footage from the Sorso cafe. The manager, a Ms. Devers, claimed that she recognised the Commander, and he was seen at least twice in the past week in the cafe, using a computer. We will need Abby to confirm this once we return."

"_Was he alone or with someone else at the time the money was transferred to those accounts?"_

"We were told that he was alone, on both occasions that the manager saw him. But I believe that the waitress knows more than the manager."

"_Name?"_

"Ashley Wickett. She appears to know the Commander, but would not verbally confirm this. Abby should check her out."

"_I'll get her on it. Get back here asap. We need those tapes."_

"Yes Gibbs."

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><p><strong>Mission = Complete<strong>

**New Mission = Next chapter :S**


	26. Blackmail, tactics and interrogation

**Ok, this is the next chapter. I'm seriously not happy with it, as its more of just a chapter filler, as will the next few be.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, nor any of the characters. Simply borrowed for fun.**

* * *

><p>"Come on Abs. Tell me you got something."<p>

"No Caf-Pow?"

"Evidence first."

"Right. Um, I went through every piece of footage that Tony and Ziva got from the Sorso cafe; and on the 4th, I found this." Gibbs leant forward towards Abby, and watched the footage on the screen, noticing the Commander e-mailing the victim.

"Can you get access to any e-mails he sent from that computer?"

"I already did Gibbs. He was blackmailing the victim."

"For what?"

"I don't know that part. These e-mails are rather cryptic Gibbs. Either your suspect doesn't mention what he's blackmailing the victim for. Or he doesn't mention much. I'm running on very little Caf-Pow right now, and I can't seem to find much else. Other than what's in the other footage."

"I'll take what you can give Abs."

"Ok. I checked over the remainder of the footage from the 4th, 7th and 14th. That waitress, Ashley Wickett? She knows the Commander. Ziva's pregnant gut was right, Gibbs. She served the Commander coffee on both the 4th and the 7th. She told Ziva, that she didn't know him."

"You done a check on her?"

"Yes. Ashley Wickett is 19 years old. She is currently putting herself through studies of medicine in Georgetown University. Working at the Sorso cafe in Baltimore, as you already know. Both her parents are dead. She has one older brother whom she has been cared for, since her parent's death, four years ago."

"Who is he?"

Abby stroked the keyboard for a few more seconds, before a DMV driver's licence photo popped up. "Um, Gibbs?"

"Thanks Abs." He placed a Caf-Pow on the table, before silently walking away.

* * *

><p>Tony, Ziva and McGee were in observation, waiting for Gibbs to return to interrogate their stewing suspect. Ziva was trying to soften the twitches she kept feeling, whilst Tony was rubbing her stomach just slightly above her hand, smiling each time a twitch was felt.<p>

"So, what approach do you guys think Gibbs will use this time?"

"Maybe the classic in-your-face."

"No. I think he'll be the consoling uncle. Softer."

Ziva shook her head. "I disagree with you McGee. I think he will be quite aggressive, but he will build up to that."

All three agents turned to the door of interrogation when Gibbs walked in, a folder smacked down against the table. Hard. "Show time."

On the opposite side of the glass, Gibbs placed himself in the seat in front of the suspect. He pulled out some surveillance photos from the folder, and shoved them towards the Commander. "You know her?"

The Commander leaned forward and glanced at the few photographs, before shoving them backwards. "Obvious I do."

"She told my agents she didn't know you."

He shrugged. "Maybe she forgot."

"Doubt I'd forget my own flesh and blood."

Back in observation, all three agents noticed when the Commander's facade slipped, he tensed at Gibbs statement, and they knew, it wouldn't be much longer until they could nail him. "Clearly he is protecting his sister."

"How do you get that from one little look, Ziva?"

"She's a ninja, McTim. Never doubt her superior skills."

"Superior skills? I will remember that for future reference, Tony."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Oh guys, seriously? Can't you discuss that alone?"

"You McSqueamish about sex, young Timothy?"

McGee's face instantly scrunched up, and he turned away from his teammates to concentrate on the interrogation playing out in front of them.

"So she's my sister, so what?"

"Why would she lie and claim she didn't know you?"

The suspect shrugged; "I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"

"I plan to." He pulled out more documents, and placed them above the pictures. Each showed the e-mails the suspect was sending to the victim, during the few weeks leading to his death.

"What are these?"

"These. Are the e-mails you sent to my victim, Navy Seal Joshua Peckham, possibly discussing a blackmailing attempt, that's been going on for the past year. Why?"

The suspect sat back in the chair, and raised his hands behind his head comfortably. "I don't know what you're talking about, Agent Gibbs."

"I bet you don't." Gibbs mirrored the position of the suspect, and began talking once more. "Rather cryptic."

"What?"

"Cryptic. E-mails?"

"I wouldn't know." Gibbs nodded, then shoved his chair back so hard, it hit the wall below the observation glass, and the three agents momentarily stepped back in surprise. Gibbs moved menacingly over to the suspect and grabbed his neck, forcing his head down to look at the documents.

"LOOK AT THEM!"

"I don't need to look at them!"

"I damn well say that you do." Gibbs growled against the suspect's ear, and pushed him closer to the table.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! LET ME GO MAN!"

He was thrusted backwards, and Gibbs leant forward on the table once more. "Start talking."

"What do you want to know?"

"Why?"

"He did my sister over."

"How?"

"He got her pregnant last year. He left her. Said he wasn't ready, to be a father. Found out he was having an affair with another Seal in his unit. So I forced him to pay me in $10,000 sums per month, or I'd expose his little affair."

"And he coughed up."

"Oh he coughed alright. Three months later, Ashley lost the baby... But I wasn't gonna let him know that. I was gonna squeeze every last penny outta him, and help pay for my sister to go to university."

"And you got greedy."

"It's what he deserved."

"He did not deserve to die."

"I didn't kill him. I have an alibi."

"Yeah? Sure about that?"

"Check Club 11. An entire club full can vouch for me. 8pm onwards."

Back in observation the team watched as Gibbs grabbed the file and walked out of interrogation, they silently wandered out into the hallway.

"Ziva, McGee. Go to that club. I want his alibi checked out."

"On it, Boss."

Tony quietly watched as his wife and team member walked off, before turning back to Gibbs, awaiting his order. "DiNozzo. Find the sister. Get her in here."

"Yes Boss."

* * *

><p><strong>Done and dusted. Now, bed time.<strong>


	27. Club questionings & more interrogations

**I've been trying to upload this for like nearly two weeks! Stupid laptop. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, nor any of the characters. Simply borrowed for fun, and will be placed back unharmed.**

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><p>The club was preparing for opening hours, when McGee and Ziva arrived. There were few bar staff visible, so they started there.<p>

They quickly pulled out their badges, raising them upwards for the barman to see. "NCIS. Special Agents McGee and David. We need to ask you some questions."

"Umm, sure. What can I do for you?"

Ziva pulled up a photo of the Commander on her cell phone, holding it up for the barman to see. "Was this man in here two nights ago?"

The barman lent forward slightly, squinting at the photograph. "I'm pretty certain. Yeah."

"What time did he leave?"

"I don't know dude. It was crazy busy here the other night. He stayed for a couple hours from 9pm."

"Was he with anyone?"

"Not at first. I heard he picked a fight with this other guy though."

"What time was this?"

"Maybe 10:30? I can't be sure. I just heard about it from the bodyguard who broke it up."

"Where is that bodyguard now?"

"Darryl? He should be round the back. Just through those doors over there." The barman pointed towards the large double fire exit doors behind Ziva and McGee.

"Thanks."

The corridor behind the fire exit doors seemed to stretch a mile long, and the musky smell of sweat, alcohol and sex was apparent to the agents, and Ziva had cover her nose and mouth to prevent herself from gagging. _Stupid, damned pregnancy and hormones._

When they finally reached the end of the corridor, they came across a tall, broad, light- haired and large bodyguard.

"Darryl?"

"Who wants to know?"

"NCIS. Wanna talk about a fight you broke up two nights ago, with this man." Ziva lifted her cell once more to backup McGee's question.

"Ah. That guy. Now he was looking for a fight. I had to restrain him."

"Can you go through it?" McGee immediately pulled out his notepad and pen, ready to write down anything significant.

"Ok. I was patrolling the disco area. This young chick came over to me, said there was a fight brewing. Needed breaking up."

"And what time was this?"

"Around 10:30. That guy was laying into this kid pretty hard."

"Can you remember what he was saying?"

"Uh, something about treating women a certain way. I think the kid may have got frisky with this girl that was there. She looked pretty shook up."

"What did you do?"

"I pulled the guy back. Told him to lay off, go get a drink or go home."

"Then what happened?"

"He stopped. So I turned to check on the girl. See if she was okay y'know? I have a daughter around her age. She said she was fine. So I told her to go to the back. That I'd be there soon to talk to her about what happened. But she declined. Thanked me, and went to the restroom."

"And was that the last you saw of her?"

"Uh, no. I saw her about a half hour later. I think she was headed home." McGee gave him a look to continue. "When I turned round that guy called the kid a 'son of a bitch' and practically jumped him. He was seriously laying into him, I grabbed him by his arms, and pulled him off."

"Do you have any idea, why, they were fighting?"

The bodyguard shook his head several times. "No ma'am. I just took the guy through the back, and left him alone to cool off. Half hour later he was back out, acting like nothing ever happened. I felt it best to put it to bed."

McGee finished writing up relevant information in his notepad, and put it away. "Thanks for your time."

When they returned to the Navy Yard with the new information they had received, Gibbs was the only one in the bullpen.

"Confirm his alibi?"

"Yes. We spoke to a security guard who was on duty two nights ago. He confirmed that the Commander was at Club 11 from 9pm for several hours. He got into a dispute with a civilian over a young female barely out of her teen years; the security guard was informed by another woman to split it up."

"Any surveillance?"

"Yeah Boss. I'm gonna take them down to Abby now, and get to work."

"Yeah, do it."

McGee nodded and rushed off towards the elevator with a handful of security tapes, whilst Ziva reclined back in her chair to relax for a moment, when Tony came in with the young sister from Baltimore.

"Boss. I have Ms. Wickett here for you."

"Take her up to the break room. Be there in a minute."

Tony nodded, and sent a brief smile in his wife's direction before disappearing upstairs.

"What can I do Gibbs?"

"Go see Ducky."

* * *

><p>"Why am I here?"<p>

"Need you to answer some questions."

"But I told that woman everything I know."

"Not everything." Tony interjected.

The girl instantly quietened down, and watched as both Gibbs and Tony took a seat opposite her. "Take a seat." She silently obeyed as the agents observed her movements. "You told my agents that you didn't know this man." Gibbs pulled out a surveillance photo from the cafe of the girl talking to the Commander. "Seems like you know him to me."

"So I served him coffee. So what. That a crime?"

"No. But ya lied. We know he's your brother." The girls eyes quickly narrowed, studying the agents before her, checking whether they were bluffing or not.

"He told us everything, Ashley."

"Then why do you need me here?"

"We need your side of the story."

Tony pulled out his notepad and pen, preparing to write down anything that matched what the Commander had already said in interrogation.

"What did my brother tell you?"

"Just tell us what you know."

She sighed heavily; "I met this guy, like nearly two years ago. He's in the Navy. We hit it off."

Gibbs removed a picture of the victim from the file and placed it in front of the girl. "That him?" He pointed at the picture for emphasis, trying to get the girl to look directly at it.

"Yes... He was so sweet back then. He'd just come back from a tour. I met him on a night out in Virginia with some college friends at the time. We dated for six months, then broke up. It happens."

"That's not the only thing that happened though, did it Ashley?"

The girl shrugged; "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were pregnant."

The girl huffed in irritation towards the agents; "Put a big fat emphasis on the past tense in that sentence."

"You were pregnant with Joshua Peckham's child. Then you lost it."

The girl folded her arms across her chest in a protective yet moody manner, leaning back in the large chair. "Yeah. It's called a miscarriage. Ever heard of that?"

"Why'd the relationship end, Ashley?"

"Josh said he wasn't ready to be a father. Most young guys aren't. I swear, I've haven't seen Josh since then. It was like a year ago."

"Has your brother been in contact with Josh in the past year?" Tony understood that in order to get the girl thinking, he had to act like he knew next to nothing about her brother, it seemed to work.

"No. I mean, ok, yes, he was furious about Josh leaving me when I needed him. But he cooled off a couple weeks later. He even started giving me money to support the baby. I told him to stop after I lost it, but he insisted on sending me to university. So, he kept on paying. You can check my bank statements if you don't believe me."

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><p><strong>Done and dusted. I have a couple more chapters to upload then I will be taking a break. Thanks.<strong>


	28. Time for a change & truths are heard

**Been ill and college final week coursework deadlines. Practically free til september now. More chapters to write. Yay.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own it. Wish I did. Bleh.**

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><p>It was relatively dark and peaceful in autopsy when Ziva arrived, and she was momentarily confused. <em>It is only dark in here at night, <em>she thought.

"Ah, Ziva. There you are."

She watched silently as Ducky appeared from the autopsy bathroom, drying his hands softly against the rough paper towels, before throwing them in the trash to the right of him. "Gibbs told me to come and see you. Although, I am not sure why."

"I have some camomile tea. Would you like some?"

"Actually yes. But what about Gibbs?"

"It was his idea my dear. Come and sit." He quickly grabbed one of the stools with a backrest for her to lean against, whilst in his company. She thanked him profusely for the gesture and gingerly sat down as he poured them both some tea.

"Where is Jimmy?" She had only just realised that the place seemed much quieter without him around, and did a quick sweep of the room in mere glances, checking to see if he wasn't hiding somewhere.

"Breena called. Some emergency. The poor boy was over panicking."

She gratefully accepted the tea he held out for her, before he sat down opposite her. She sipped the tea , savouring the warm taste and flavour on her tongue. It had been so long since she had had camomile tea. "So, why is it that I am down here?"

It was agreed by both Gibbs and Tony about a week ago, that Tony was to be the one to start suggesting that Ziva be permanently put on desk work until her maternity leave started. Unfortunately, the case impacted that, and Gibbs suggested that Ducky do it instead. Tony had begrudgingly agreed, knowing that if Ducky was free when he wasn't, it may as well get put out there quickly.

"I wanted to pass on a suggestion to you Ziva. If you don't mind?"

She squinted her eyes slightly in his direction, then placed her tea down on the table beside her. "Alright."

"I believe Anthony wanted to speak to you about this himself, but alas cases and criminals get in the way, and others must step in."

"Ducky?"

"Ah yes, sorry. He suggested that you start considering taking on desk work, rather than active duty in the field."

"Why would he suggest something like that? Tony knows how much I love to be in the field."

"Yes my dear, we all understand that. But I do agree with Anthony. You are what, now, around five months pregnant?"

She nodded; "Yes. But Gibbs agreed to keep me in the field until my sixth month."

"Ziva, you have a multiple pregnancy, which is double the stress and weight on your body. You will become much larger much quicker than a single pregnancy."

"I am going to hit him when I get home." She muttered the threat under her breath.

"Oh Ziva, he is doing what he feels is best for you and the babies."

"No. He is being over- protective, as usual."

Ducky sighed, and leant towards her slightly, his voice more stern than before; "I would seriously consider this, Ziva."

* * *

><p>Gibbs, McGee and Tony were all in the bullpen when Ziva returned.<p>

"I checked Ashley's bank statements. She was telling the truth. Her brother was putting $5000 a month into her account via electronic transfer with a computer from the Sorso Cafe where she works."

"That's only half the money our victim gave her brother. Where's the rest of it?"

"Still in his account, Boss. Seems like he felt our victim owed him as much as he felt he owed Ashley."

"Yeah well, his death should be more than enough."

"He must need the remaining money for something." All three boys turned and followed Ziva's voice, which was by Tony's desk.

"Yeah. Ziva, with me. We're gonna talk to the Commander." Her face lit up at being asked to do something, and she momentarily forgot her anger towards her husband about putting her on 'desk duty'. She quickly followed Gibbs down to interrogation leaving the rest of the team upstairs.

"Did you see the look on her face before?"

Tim drew his eyebrows together and a large crease in his forehead appeared. "What are you talking about?"

"Ziva. She had a real angry look on her face when she came in."

"Have you two been partners for too long?"

"What do you mean?"

"You got issues, DiNozzo. She's your wife; won't she tell you when something's bothering her?"

* * *

><p>"What do you people want now? I told you everything."<p>

Ziva gingerly sat in the opposing chair to the suspect, and placed the file down on the table, whilst Gibbs remained behind her. "Not everything, Commander."

She pulled out a documented copy of the transfer that McGee had found and pushed them towards the suspect. "These are?"

"These, are the transfers of money you made to your sister. Each time you visited the cafe where she works, you transferred $5,000 to her account."

"She needs help to pay tuition for university. That's what that is."

"As my colleagues would've already explained to you, the victim transferred $10,000 each time into your account, not five."

The Commander locked his fingers together on the table and leant forward slightly. "Yeah. And?"

"And, you have only been handing your sister half of that amount each time you visited her workplace."

"So what? It's my money now. I do what I want with it."

Gibbs pushed himself forward from the glass and stepped beside Ziva. "What is it that you plan on doing with that money?"

"That's none of your business, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs smacked his hands down on the table. Hard. Ziva momentarily sat back in surprise, forgetting that her Boss tended to do that, before composing herself once more. "It is, actually. You see, this money, came from blackmailing our victim. What are you using that money for?"

"I already told you-"

"THE MONEY LEFT IN YOUR ACCOUNT!"

The Commander sat back again, a stony expression plastered across his face. "What do you plan to do with that money Commander?"

He heaved a sigh "I'm planning trips for me and Ashley."

"What kind of trips?"

"I was gonna take her over to Europe. Visit Greece, where our grandparents are buried. They died on a cruise liner, and my parents agreed to have them buried there. I wanna take Ash to see them. She hasn't seen them since they left for that cruise almost 10 years ago."

"It isn't that expensive to travel to Greece Commander. What else?"

"The rest is going into buying my parents old lake house, for me and Ash to move in. It's a special place for both of us. Don't you wanna visit places that hold memories to your childhoods?"

* * *

><p><strong>Yes it is done. No, I am not going to make promises that a new chapter will be up soon. I obviously struggle to keep my promises.<strong>


	29. The foursome have a picnic

**I know, I know, I know. I'm sorry. My phone decided to fuck up and delete my stories, so I've had to start from scratch, especially with this one. So thats my only reason for the absence.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Just borrowed for play.**

**To the guest Violate, thank you so much for your wonderful review, and I apologise for the long absence, I have considered one of those names yes, whether I use it, I'm not sure.**

* * *

><p>That Saturday was a nice break for the team, and Ziva and Abby had dragged the boys along to the park. The day was hot, and many families clattered the park, laughter and chatter filling the ears of the agents.<p>

They had decided to have a picnic, and take advantage of the beautiful day. Tony and Abby were setting out the blankets and the basket, laying out some of the food for the four of them. Ziva was patiently waiting to be asked for help, whilst simultaneously admiring the view onto the Potomac. McGee meanwhile was busy texting on his phone, when his absentmindedness caught the eye of Abby.

"McGee, weren't you listening?"

He quickly raised his head to see Abby staring at him, her hands resting on her hips, with Tony glancing up at him from his spot by the picnic basket. "Umm.. Yes, Abby."

"Then what did I just say?"

He creased his forehead, his face contorting in cohesion with his confusion, trying to figure out a relevant response. "Something about, pasta salad?"

Tony smirked, knowing full well, McGee was about to get a full loaded Abby- styled attack. "No McGee. I wanted you to pass me the plates beside you, but you were too busy texting or whatever! What were you doing that was more important?"

"I-I... It's nothing. I'm really sorry." He placed his cell phone down, and picked up the plates, and passed them over to Tony's awaiting hands. "Here."

Whilst Abby was busy making sure McGee was paying attention to what she had brought with her for the picnic, Tony helped ease Ziva down onto the blanket beside him, carefully cradling her stomach as she sat down.

"Ok?"

She turned and gave him a brief smile. "Yes. Much, thank you." She leant back on her hands, and let the sun soak her skin. She moaned lightly at the warm tingles the sun sent through her body, relaxing her.

"How are my babies today?" He grazed his hand softly across the expanse of her protruding six month pregnant stomach, one of the twins immediately kicked in response, making Ziva wince.

"They were relaxed, until now."

He slowly removed his hand, and kissed his wife's cheek in apology. "Sorry."

"What is up with McGee today? He seems distracted."

Tony changed his gaze, and observed Tim who was helping Abby set out the remainder of the food. "I don't know. Maybe he's been texting one of his online geek friends or something, for an Elf Lord convention."

"I don't think it is that. He is not paying attention to Abby anymore. Perhaps he has found someone special?"

Tony turned to look at his wife who was watching him with the same expression as he. "You think McLovin's pulled?"

Her forehead creased with a strong intensity, before she explained things in a way which she could understand. "No. I think he has found a girlfriend."

"That's what I said, in retrospect."

"Abby officially does not take it well, when McGee isn't focused on her."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Yeah. But she has someone else, right? She can't have it both ways."

"I'm pretty certain that Abby has said that to you and I in the past."

"Probably." He began a soft stroking motion across Ziva's back, when he saw her wince and shift positions. "But she can't expect McGee to be a lost puppy, following her around 24/7. If he's found someone, then good for Probie."

"Perhaps you should talk with him?"

He turned to give her a sceptical look; "Me? Really? I'm not good with that stuff."

"You are better than you give yourself credit for, Tony. You are like a big brother to him."

He sighed in defeat, knowing full well that starting an argument with his wife was pretty pointless, he never won. Besides, he could get some valuable information from it, and maybe Probie was actually happy if he was in a relationship. "In a while, okay?"

"Hey Ziva, wanna play Frisbee?"

"Umm, sure." Tony helped her to stand up and watched as she and Abby went a little further down on the grass to play, leaving the boys alone.

"So, McTim, not hung up on Abby anymore?"

"I was never hung up on Abby, Tony."

He rolled his eyes playfully, and leant back on his hands momentarily watching his wife and friend laugh and play. "Someone else caught your eye, McGee?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"Come on McRomance. I just want you to be happy."

McGee squinted towards his colleague before shrugging. "Maybe."

"She cute?"

"You have a wife."

"And you're darting the question, McAvoid."

McGee's cell phone buzzed beside him, and Tony snatched it before the Probie could pick it up. "Hey! Give it back."

Tony quickly opened up a message, and glanced at the name of the sender, before McGee pounced on him, trying to grab his cell back.

After a bit of a wrestle, McGee got it back, and put distance between himself and Tony, pocketing his cell. "So... Katie, huh? She one of your elf-y pals?"

"Yes. She's a gamer, alright?"

Tony smirked, and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler, and took a sip before speaking. "Relax Timmy boy, I'm happy for you."

McGee merely rolled his eyes; "Yeah right."

"If you want me to keep my nose out, then I will."

The Probie's eyebrows shot up, and Tony almost laughed at the clear shock in that expression. "What? I don't like you poking your nose in my marriage, so I'll keep my nose outta your whatever it is, with the young Katie."

"Thanks. I think."

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><p>When Ziva had grew achy and exhausted from the long game of Frisbee, the girls returned to the blanket with the boys, and started on the food. Ziva had leant heavily against her husband's side for support when she sat back down, the extra weight of the twins had hurt her back, so Tony promised to massage her later.<p>

Abby and McGee were getting on properly again, and Tony made a mental note to both discuss the news of McTim's new gal with his wife, and have a quiet and gentle talk with Abby to ease her off.

It was nearing 4.30pm when Ziva's body was ready to give in, so Tony decided it was time to go home. Abby and McGee had helped pack things away, and bid the couple farewell.

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><p>Ziva practically collapsed into bed when she and Tony got home. She had looked tired for the past hour or so, a little nap will make her feel better. Tony made a head start on dinner for them, knowing his wife would wake in two hours. She never slept longer than that, when she was napping. He decided on some grilled chicken breasts, and sautéed vegetables with some leafy lettuce.<p>

As soon as he had got the food onto the plates, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. _She's nearby. _True to his thoughts, about five seconds later, Ziva turned the corner and appeared in the kitchen, in a pair of her maternity leggings and his old Ohio State sweatshirt she had been wearing for most of the pregnancy.

"That smells good." She leaned over the counter to kiss his cheek in thanks, before moving to sit down at the table.

"Thought we could have something healthier for a change. Y'know, instead of pizza or Chinese all the time."

She smiled affectionately towards him and the effort he had gone to, during the time she was out like a 'bulb?' _Nevermind. _"Well, I am very grateful."

They ate in comfortable silence until seven, when Ziva asked to watch a Magnum PI marathon in bed for the rest of the night. Tony agreed, but reminded her that she did need a massage for her shoulders and back, as she had complained that afternoon about the pain.

Once she was settled in bed, Tony grabbed a few of the massage oils from the bathroom cabinet, and returned to the bedroom, where Ziva had taken her shirt off, waiting for him.

He sat behind her, before smothering some of the oil onto his hands, then began kneading her shoulders slowly, applying minimal pressure at first, to give her body time to adjust and react. She moaned low in her throat, and he took that as permission to dig a little harder into her skin to clear the knots, she hissed slightly in response at first before relaxing and humming in appreciation again.

She groaned in disapproval when his hands left her body. "Relax ninja. I need to put some more oil on my hands for your back."

She nodded, and her head dipped forward in delight when she felt his hands roam her back and knead the knots that had caused her problems all afternoon. He worked hard for a good fifteen minutes, until he felt the tension leave her back completely.

Once she had covered and settled herself in bed, Tony went to clean up, before joining her. He draped his arm across the expanse of her stomach, and kissed her cheek. "So, was I right?"

"About?"

"McGee. Does he have a girlfriend?"

He stroked his hand softly across her abdomen, trying to soothe the kicks he could feel. "Yeah. Names Katie. Some gamer girl."

She turned to face him; "Is that all you got?"

He raised his eyebrows; "Surprised?"

"I just usually expect more from you, when you snoop."

He shrugged; "I said I would keep my nose out, as long as he was happy."

She lifted a free hand to softly pat his cheek; "You need to talk to Abby."

He nodded before leaning in to peck her lips. "I'm already on it."

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><p><strong>Done and done. Knackered now. Bed time. :)<strong>


	30. Imma handle that one

**30th chapter. Pheww! Getting there. Angst warning heading your way guys. Just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it... Or do I? ;)**

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><p>On Monday morning, the first thing Tony did after returning from the crime scene, was go down to Abby's lab. Luckily Ziva and McGee were busy searching for background information on their victim, leaving Tony to bring evidence down for their resident goth.<p>

"Hey Abs. I come bearing gifts." He placed the large box of evidence down on the table beside him.

Abby came over and began rummaging through; "Wow. Bloody shirt, hair and fingernail samples. It's not my birthday yet Tony."

He smirked. "You're welcome Abs. I do need to talk to you though. Non case related."

Abby stopped rummaging through the evidence and turned to face Tony, before moving to her computer, to lower the volume of her music. "Ok. Talk."

"Ok... Remember, last weekend? The picnic?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I was there."

"Why were you acting weird with McGee?"

"I wasn't. He was ignoring me, and you and Ziva. He never ignores us."

Tony shrugged, "Maybe he was preoccupied with organising a game night out or something. You know how much he loves his geek stuff."

"Yeah, of course I do. It's what makes me love him. You know, like I love you for your swagger and honesty and movie quotes, and I love Ziva for her ninja-ness and crazy skills and-"

He grabbed a quick hold of her shoulders, to shake her out of her rant. "Abs. Listen to me. Give Probie a little leeway for Saturday."

"Did Timmy send you down here, to get me to forgive him? 'Cause, tell him everything's fine."

"No. McGoo didn't send me down here." He let go of her shoulders, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I think he's just finally, having some fun."

"Fun?"

He began pacing slightly then, from Major Mass Spec back to Abby in front of her computer. "Yeah, you know fun. You're having fun, so is he."

She grabbed her Caf-Pow and took a sip before placing it back down, and moving her hands to her hips. "McGee and I have different ideas of fun, you know. I mean, we like similar things, but what we do for fun is totally different. I mean, I like getting tattoos and hanging out with guys that li-"

She froze mid-sentence, causing Tony to stop pacing and face her, a confusing expression plastered on his face. "What?" She raised her head and punched him in the arm. Tony lifted his hand to place it over the area in which Abby had hurt him. "Oww."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He began rubbing his arm slowly and tentatively up and down. "Tell you what?"

"That McGee has a girlfriend!"

"What makes you think that?" She punched him the arm again. "Oww! Will you quit doing that?"

"Because you said, that McGee is having, fun. And I'm having fun, by hanging out with guys that like science, so he must be hanging out with girls that like those online games. It makes perfect sense. I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

He cradled his arm once more. "I didn't think there was anything to tell."

"Well obviously there is!"

"Will you calm down? Cut the probie some slack. I gotta go."

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><p>Tony and Ziva didn't get a moment alone together, until Gibbs was interrogating their third suspect, and McGee was sent to observation, leaving them to head to the break room for a snack.<p>

Ziva sat back in the chair, whilst Tony grabbed two chocolate bars, a soda for him and a carton of orange juice for her.

Once back at the table that occupied his wife, he handed over the orange juice and a chocolate bar, smirking when she tucked into the bar almost immediately.

"How did Abby take it?"

"I got punched in the arm several times. Uh, she assumed I'd known longer than I actually had, and she's pretty mad right now. I got outta there."

"Perhaps I should speak with her?"

Tony shrugged; "Worth a shot, I guess. Just give her a couple hours to cool off."

She nodded and sipped on her juice greedily, before her eyes widened and she clutched the side of her stomach. Tony was instantly on his feet and by her side, cupping her cheek. "Everything alright?"

"Yes. The twins are kicking." She watched as his face lit up, and he lowered his hand to her stomach, trying to feel for the kicks. When he had trouble finding them, she guided his hand over to the left side of her abdomen. "Here."

Ziva thought if he smiled anymore, his face might split, but her heart swelled with such adoration, because she knew he would be the best father she could ask for their daughters.

"I'll never get tired of that."She couldn't but laugh a little against his lips when he kissed her. _He could be so cute sometimes._

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><p>McGee was finally back in the bullpen when the partners returned a half hour later, explaining that they all could go home, because their third suspect caved under the tough ways of Gibbs, and blabbed about how he murdered the victim and why he dressed him in a Navy Seal's outfit.<p>

Tony and Ziva didn't bother to ask further questions and gathered their belongings quickly before darting out of the squadroom and heading home for the night.

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><p>Ziva decided on making dinner whilst Tony was busy returning the four phone calls he had received on the car ride home. She was just draining the pasta when she heard a crash and profanity slip from his mouth. She placed the pan down, and waddled quickly into the lounge, to see Tony angrily bashing the wall near the TV. She could see his cell phone lying open on the floor by the coffee table, and guessed the phone call wasn't going to be pleasant to her ears.<p>

She moved forward and grabbed his wrists, preventing him from causing more damage, and that's when she noticed the bloody knuckles. _He hit the wall pretty hard._ "Tony."

He limply cupped both her cheeks and softly kissed her lips. She could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks, there were few, but she could feel them. She pushed softly on his chest, and he leaned back, but rested his forehead against hers. "Tony?"

"My father." His hands slowly dropped from her face, to rest against his sides, and he winced at the pain that followed the movement.

"What has he done?"

He gently shook his head against hers for a minute; "He's had a- A heart attack."

"Oh Ahava." She moved her arms round his back and gripped him, pulling him closer to her. She could feel him trying hard to prevent a sob from escaping, when he released a shaky breath. "Can I clean your wounds?" She knew it was right to be gentle and ask him first, seeking his confirmation, despite knowing that if she had just outwardly told him what she was going to do, he would follow anyway.

He nodded weakly; "Yeah." They let go of each other, and Ziva left to grab some witch hazel and a damp cloth to use. When she returned, he was sat on the couch, his hands cradled in his lap. She moved to sit beside him, before pouring some witch hazel onto the cloth, before grabbing one of his hands.

"This may sting a little." She was right when no more than a few seconds later, he hissed and his hand in hers, twitched, like he wanted to pull away. She made quick work of cleaning him up, and eventually convinced him to get his hands bandaged.

Neither of them slept much that night, Ziva spent the night constantly tripping over to the bathroom and worrying over her husband, thanks to the babies sensing the anxiety and causing her problems; and Tony spent the majority of his time, pacing around the house and arguing with himself over what to do.

_Lord have mercy..._

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><p><strong>Done. Next chapter roll on. Come on brain, be nice to me...<strong>


	31. Ya just gonna add to that, ain't ya?

**Okay, I ended up with a whole new layer to this story now, so some major changes are gonna happen. So that does mean no chapters for a while. Sorry guys. But heres this one to tide you over.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

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><p>Ziva was only mildly surprised to discover that Tony refused to get out of bed that morning. He'd been up most of the night, and was flat out exhausted by 3am, when he finally crashed out beside her.<p>

She kissed him on his cheek, before climbing out of bed, and heading downstairs with a book, and made herself some herbal tea, before settling on the couch with the TV on low volume. The twins had woke her up yet again this morning, and she was too uncomfortable to remain in bed with the girls moving around so much. She held her book in one hand, as her other began a stroking motion up and down the expanse of her stomach to soothe the twins.

She felt a hard twinge when she stopped to grab some of her tea, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself down and ease the pain. It worked, and she continued to read. About ten minutes later, she felt another twinge, much stronger than the last. She dropped her book, and clenched the sides of her stomach to soften the pain.

"No." She whispered, as she leant forward on the couch. "Please. Not now." Ziva rubbed her stomach a little harder, and once the pain subsided she waddled up the stairs to her husband in the bedroom. She smacked him, hard, to wake him up.

"Oww... Ziva, do you mind!?" He cradled his shoulder.

"We have a problem... I think the babies are coming." It took a minute for the words to register in his mind, before he leapt out of bed, and began rushing about, grabbing clothes for him and Ziva to put on, and calling the hospital.

"Bethesda. This is Special Agent Antony DiNozzo from NCIS. My wife is... How many weeks are you, Ziva?"

"28 weeks." She said between heavy breaths.

"Right. She's 28 weeks. She's pregnant with twins... Yeah, she's in pain." He quickly moved back over to the bed, once he dressed himself, and attempted to get Ziva at least into her maternity pants. "Honey, any bleeding?"

She shook her head, as he finally slid the pants up. "Just very bad twinges."

"No, she's had bad twinges... Uh, a couple so far. Maybe, a few minutes apart... Ok, thanks." He hung up the phone, before throwing it aside, and helped his wife stand, and cupped her cheeks. "Look at me." After panting a few more times, she lifted her head to look at him. "Just breathe, alright. Everything's going to be ok. I promise."

"But, they are, 10 weeks, early." She continued to pant, and gripped Tony's hands on her cheeks, when the intensity increased slightly.

"I'm gonna get you to the hospital Ziva, ok? I won't let anything happen to you or the babies."

She clenched his hand tightly throughout the ride to the hospital, and even though she wouldn't admit it, she was terrified.

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><p>The lights of the hospital shone brightly down the corridors, and the warmth they generated, burnt Ziva, and she couldn't breathe. She was practically being dragged across the floor by her husband, and she wanted to stop. Stop dead, and just sleep. She was tired. Really tired.<p>

They finally reached the reception, and all Ziva could hear was the frantic voice of her husband, ordering the receptionist to get as many nurses or Doctors as she could get, and to get them _fast. _She focused on her breathing, and squeezed Tony's hand when a wave of pain was particularly strong.

She couldn't lose the babies. Not now. Not after everything she has been through. What she's put herself and Tony through. _No. She will not lose these children._

She's carted off down the hall so quickly; she registers the pain she feels at the loss of her husband by her side. She _can't _do this without him. She won't. Throughout her tests, she prods and questions the nurses on what's happening to her, and they continually tell her 'not to worry', which causes her concern to rise, and she finally admits to being scared. It's only once the nurses tell her she's not in premature labour, and give her some medication to ease the pain, does she demand to see her husband, and threatens to kill some of them, when they refuse.

He's shouting at the receptionist when a Doctor comes out with Ziva. She waddles over to him, and places a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. He shoots round, and hugs her with all his might, that seriously rivals Abby. She returns the passion and care in the hug, because she's missed him, and she needed him with her, even if it has only been a half hour they've been separated.

The Doctor behind them coughs to signal his presence, and the partners pull themselves apart to face the tall, tan skinned man in a long white coat. "Sorry. My name is Doctor Winghall. I'm afraid I may not have the answers you're looking for, in regards to what has just happened to you Mrs DiNozzo."

Tony's arm instinctively tightens around Ziva's waist. _Comforting reflex. _"There's no answer for what happened to my wife? Is that what you're saying Dr. Winghall?"

The Doctor sighed; "I'm afraid, in some cases, things like this, are unexplainable. I've had many women go through the same experience in singlet pregnancies."

"But she doesn't have a single pregnancy!"

"I'm very aware of that Mr DiNozzo. You have the appropriate medication to take, and I would strongly advise bed rest for the next week, minimum. I would like you to see your midwife as soon as possible, as they are more aware of your nutritional, physical and psychological needs, Mrs DiNozzo. I would need them to confirm and sign off on your bed rest."

"Of course. What on earth have I just gone through? I thought I was giving birth."

"Yes. I understand. You were showing similar signs of premature labour, and the best thing we can do, is prolong this birth and get you past the 32 week mark. In simplest terms, you suffered a pregnancy scare."

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><p>Tony had clung to his wife for the rest of the day, in fear of anything more happening to her, or the babies. He made the phone call to Dr Johnson to ask for the sign off for Ziva's bed rest, before eventually making some dinner and retiring to bed with his wife to watch a movie.<p>

"We are going to be ok, right Tony?"

He curled her into his chest and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. "Of course we are."

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><p><strong>Imma leave ya hanging with this one. ;)<strong>


	32. It's just hard to believe right now

**Did I surprise ya? Back earlier than I planned.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

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><p>The bright sunlight streaming the curtains is what woke Tony from a fitful sleep that morning, and he rolled over expecting to feel the warmth of his wife. He jolted forward in bed when her side was empty. He rubbed his hands over his face, and checked the bedside clock. <em>06:47. Great, <em>he thought. He had to go to work in an hour without his wife. That's when he focused on the faint sound coming from the en suite. It sounded like, retching? _Crap._

He quickly wandered to the bathroom, and sure enough, there was Ziva, hunched over the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach, quite aggressively he might add too. He immediately bends down behind her, to hold her hair, and rub up and down her back, anything to help. He knows this routine now. He's a little surprised to see her throwing up though. She hasn't had morning sickness in forever, and he can't help but wonder why it is, she's retching.

He doesn't have much time to think it through, before Ziva flushes the toilet and collapses forward against the seat. Her head resting across her arm. She groans heavily, deep in her throat, and Tony takes that as her way of explaining how shit she feels right now. He gets it. It doesn't seem like an appealing situation to be in at times, but he knows that she knows it'll be worth it in the end. They both know that.

She reaches back her free hand and clasps it in his larger, warmer one. He's tempted to ask her if she wants him to stop home with her for today, but immediately decides against it. If she had the choice, she'd be going into work herself, no point moping about the house. _Someone has to bring home the ham, yes?_

He brushes her hair back from her face; "You ready to get up again?"

She's silent for a long time, before she weakly nods her head against her arm, and clenches his hand to ease her up.

He notices how pale she looks today, when he finally gets her back into bed. He sits beside her, and brushes her hair out of her face; she leans into the touch almost immediately and gives him a weak smile. She knows what he's thinking; he's contemplating staying with her. She knows, that he knows, he can't use up any more comp time. He's used enough. So has she. They both need to work for months, until they can clear enough comp time once more. They'll need to after the babies are born. "Go to work. I will be fine."

He opens his mouth, and then closes it. Whatever he had or wanted to say clearly died on his lips, before he could voice it. She kinda interrupts his thoughts anyway. "I will be fine." She insists once more, and lightly removes his hand from her and gives him a pointed look, before he reluctantly sighs and leaves her side.

* * *

><p>He's sick and tired of the workload come lunch. Him and McGee had to deal with a 20ft radius crime scene this morning in Quantico without Gibbs. At least 30 different witnesses and Jimmy Palmer on his own with their two dead victims, constantly texting his girlfriend 'Breena'. It's a miracle Tony hasn't punched a wall out of frustration yet. <em>He really misses Ziva.<em>

When they returned to the Navy Yard, McGee bombed Abby with the crap load of evidence they had to gather, whilst Tony was left to update Gibbs on the case so far, when he appeared from the Directors office.

He knows both Gibbs and McGee have noticed his change in mood since Friday, his mask is steady for now, but without his wife by his side to keep him afloat, he's not sure he can keep his facade up much longer.

He practically sprints outta the building later to call his wife. He's missed the comforting sound of her voice, and just _her _in general. She greets him warmly over the phone; she just woke up after a nap. She asks how his day has gone so far, and he tells her how hectic it's been. She instantly knows he's not saying something, the something that is bugging him. She has only had to utter his name, before he sighs heavily, and explains how angry he feels and how much he just wants to hold her right now. She responds with a heartfelt _'I love you' _and the promise to be there when he gets home.

After the phone call ends, he doesn't have much time to breathe and enjoy the peace, because McGee saddles up beside him on the bench, and Tony just knows what's coming next.

"What's up with you?" _Wow, straight to the point this time. Nice, Probie._

He swallows hard to prevent his natural instincts kicking in that make him sarcastic, deflective or run. His hands automatically lift to rub across his face, and he sighs deeply into them. _Just be honest, just be honest, _he tells himself. "Found out my Dad had a heart attack the other day."

"You're kidding?" When Tony simply shakes his head, McGee feels the need to apologise, and maybe do some digging too. "Wow. I'm really sorry Tony... How is he?"

"I wouldn't know... I haven't called. Not really had the chance to."

Tim's eyebrows knit together in confusion, and leans forward on his knees to get closer to his friend. "Why? Something else happened?"

Tony lowers his hands from his face, and turns to face McGee. "Ziva."

"What about Ziva?"

Tony could feel his legs begin to shake under his arms, and he had to grip his thighs to stop the rigorous movement. "She had a pregnancy scare, Tim. That's why she's at home, on bed rest... I was busy worrying over my pathetic father, and I didn't protect her!"

"Tony, this is not your fault." Tony continuously shook his head, and clenched his fists. He refused to believe the scare wasn't his fault. Ziva was his partner, in work and in life, and he couldn't protect her from one damn pregnancy scare. "Whether you accept it as something natural Tony, it happened. Ziva's ok right?"

"Apart from the reappearance of her morning sickness, yeah."

"Well there you go. I'm sorry for what's happened Tony over the last few days, but toughen up, your wife will need you."

"Like you know what it's like to be in my situation!" He snapped, and turned himself away from the Probie.

"I don't. I'm just trying to get you out of your headspace. It usually works."

"Yeah well, not this time. I need to be alone for this one." McGee recognised the need of his colleague, and instantly left him to his own devices.

Tony felt a pang in his chest, when his thoughts drifted back to his father and to Ziva. He didn't know what to do anymore. He just wanted to run away, take Ziva, and raise their girls somewhere; no-one would ever find them. He could almost hear his Aunt Sophie's voice in the back of his head now. _'Don't run away from your problems, Antony. They'll never disappear that way.'_

He begrudgingly lifted himself off the bench, and returned to the bullpen to finish his work day. McGee wavered quite close to him for the rest of the day, making sure he was ok. Tony was grateful and annoyed, and spent an additional hour at work that night, punching out his frustration in the gym.

Ziva was flat out in bed when he finally got home, and all he could do was collapse beside her, and throw his arm over the top of her stomach. He just wanted to sleep. The calming breaths of his wife eventually lull him to sleep. The last thing he remembers before the darkness claims him is the whispered words 'I love you Ziva' rolling off his tongue...

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><p><strong>Phew. What will happen next? ;) Wait and see.<strong>


	33. Food for thought for someone

**Sorry guys, but this story is going to be angsty for a quite a while, with tidbits of happiness here and there. But more stable positivity is coming for the duo. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. I got that part.**

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><p>Tony's the first to wake that morning, as Ziva is comfortably pressed to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He loves to watch her sleep, so innocently, so freely, like she doesn't have a care in the world. <em>God, he really, really loves her. <em>Just the littlest of things in their marriage can make his heart swell, and he loves her more each day. He only wants to live for the good moments.

She begins to stir in his arms, and he waits it out, until her eyes comfortably settle on his own. She opens her mouth to speak, but gets no further when he gives her a morning kiss that melts her, and she shudders in his embrace. _Quite the good morning greeting._

She's deliciously distracted for a minute, and he's kinda happy about that, because he's not in the mood to talk right now, because he just _knows _what she's going to ask of him, and he's not sure he can do that.

She pushes against him and tears her lips away, and he's dreading it. "You were in late last night."

"You're a light sleeper." Naturally he tries to divert the conversation, even though he knows his wife will have none of it. When he's down, she'll get to the bottom of the problem.

She nods in acknowledgement, before climbing out of bed, and grabbing her thick robe to keep her warm. "What happened after you called me yesterday?"

He shrugged; "Nothing." She gave him a pointed look, she knew tended to crack him more easily these days. He sighed; "McGee practically glued himself to me all afternoon. It got annoying. So, I stayed late at the gym."

"Why would McGee glue, himself to you?"

"He interrogated me at lunch, after, I called you... He knows about my Dad, and about you."

She came to sit beside him on his side of the bed, and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. "Are you alright?"

He placed his hand over hers, and linked their fingers. "I don't know. I just, don't know."

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><p>Gibbs was the one to attempt to drum into Tony's mindset that day, on a ride out to a suspect's home. He should've guessed by all the looks he'd been receiving all morning. It's a given.<p>

"What's going on DiNozzo?"

He sighed heavily, and rubbed his hands over his face. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Concerned about ya."

"I'm fine!" He snapped, and smacked the dashboard with his hands, before taking a deep breath and leaning back in his seat once more.

Gibbs calmly glanced over at Tony, before turning his gaze back to the road. "Can see that."

"I'm a bad partner. I'm a bad husband. I'm a bad to-be father. I'm a bad son. I-" He mumbled, shaking his head, and after all the thoughts he'd had the last few days, this negativity was beginning to stick, and his brain was seriously starting to believe it.

Gibbs slammed the breaks on the car, watching as Tony was lurched forwards and then backwards. "What's brought this on, Tony?"

"Everything! Every-damn-single-thing! I can't do anything right anymore, Boss." He roughly brushed at a tear escaping, refusing to latch onto his Boss' gaze.

"Listen, DiNozzo; whatever's happened, you're the most capable person I know, and I'm, damn proud, of everything you've done. You know, I'm here, whenever you, need me. Ok?"

Tony finally built up the courage to look at Gibbs. He smiled weakly, and nodded curtly. It's always a surprise when the Boss speaks more than few words.

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><p>Not at all being a surprise, Abby was next on the list. To be fair, Tony had willingly gone down to the lab intending on checking up on the evidence for their current case. She practically jumped him, once he stepped into Labby, before being bombarded with questions. He was a little put off at first, and guessed that McGee and his McBlabber mouth had let loose to Abby. Besides, keeping a secret from Abby, especially about ones she cared about most, wasn't an easy task. She probably threatened to kill the poor Probie, and leave no forensic evidence behind. <em>Typical. <em>

"Is your father ok?"

He sighed, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to my family."

"What do you mean you haven't spoken to your family? Don't you wanna see if he's _alive_?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, and nipped slightly on his skin. A coping mechanism Ziva uses on him sometimes. It helped, and in the back of his mind, he tried to imagine her fingers completing the motion instead. "I'm not sure, Abby." He replied honestly.

"Well, why? I mean, if I could see my Dad again, I would."

"It's complicated Abby."

"Tony, can I be brutally honest?" He nodded. "Fathers make mistakes, you know? But we forgive them, because they try to make it right. Or they wanna make it right, but have no idea how... If my father was alive, I would jump at the chance to see him, regardless of what he did. Don't lose the chance with yours."

_Well that's some food for thought..._

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><p>His smile finally manages to appear and broaden in one go when he gets home. Ziva is sat back on the couch in the dim light, with a book in front of her, reading to the twins. She doesn't bother turning to greet him, because he rushes to the couch and quickly kisses her cheek, before placing his hand over her abdomen, rubbing up and down. She reached across and captured his free hand in hers, whilst she continued to read softly. The gentle tone of her voice instantly calms him, and he continues to stroke across her stomach, and tightened his hand around her own until she finished reading.<p>

She placed the book beside her, and turned to give him the kiss she had made him wait for since he returned home. Her lips tasted of raspberries, and Tony savoured the taste and feel of her for as long as he could, before she pulled back. "You are seeming a little happier tonight."

"I've had a stern talking too. From Gibbs and Abs." She nodded, allowing him to continue. "Gave me food for thought... I think I wanna see my father."

She studied him silently for a minute, before softly stroking across his cheek. "Are you sure about this?"

"He may be a bastard, but he's still my father. Despite what he did to me, I don't want him dead."

"If that is what you want Tony, then I will support you."

He leant forward and kissed her again, seeking her physical reassurance, because he'd needed her too much over the past few days at work. She pushed herself further into his embrace, and wound her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. He traced his tongue along her bottom lip, and groaned when the taste of his wife's mouth tickled his buds. God, he never grows tired of kissing her. He feels a kick against his stomach courtesy of their unborn's, and it's strong enough to pull them apart.

He chuckles lightly, and rubs over the spot, one of the twins is still kicking. "Yeah munchkins, I didn't forget about you." _Yeah, he's definitely better off at home, _he thinks. _It's his safehaven..._

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><p><strong>In comes the DiNozzo family once more. In 3...2...1...<strong>


	34. A phone call and a neighbour

**Next chapter. Some more sadness, but happiness. Yay! I also have another story in the works at the moment, that I'm posting over on Tumblr first, if its good enough, you guys will see it soon too.**

**Reviews from Chapter 33-**

**Guest Sara: Thank you. The Step-mother Louise from the Engagement Party chapters is one I have made up, yes. :)**

**Someoneslove: Haha, thank you. Glad you're enjoying and continuing to read this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. I got that Glasberg. No worries.**

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><p><em>Three days. Three days. Three days, since he vocally voiced his decision to his wife that he may want to see his father. <em>He stood in the backyard, gripping his cell phone tightly in his hands, still contemplating on whether or not to call. Ziva was in the bath, so Tony was left to his own devices, and the thoughts were plaguing him. _Should he call? Would his father even care? _He flipped open his cell, and dialled a number, after four rings the person on the other end picked up.

"_Anthony?"_

Tony hesitated for a moment, before he eventually whispered; "Yeah, it's me."

"_I wasn't expecting you to call son."_

He rubbed across his neck quickly in a nervous flick, before lowering his arm once more. "Neither was I, until a few days ago... What've you heard?"

"_It's his heart boy. He has a small blood clot. As far as I know, the Doctors have done a good job, and he's on a ventilator to support his breathing." _Tony felt relieved that his father was alive, but he didn't feel that immense rush of emotion most children are supposed to feel in these situations. _Suppose that's because of what his father did to him... "Listen Anthony, you don't need to come up here to check on him. His fiancé is with him, me and Soph can update you. Neither me nor your Aunt want you to go through anymore crap with him again."_

"I appreciate that, Uncle Vincenzo, I really do. But I don't..." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"_Tony, no-one will judge you, if you choose to stay home."_

"I know. I know... I just wish things were good. I've had a crap week."

"_If that's an invitation to tell me what's gone on, I'm all ears son."_

"Ziva had a pregnancy scare the other day... She was in so much pain, Uncle Vin. I thought, after hearing about Dad, that I could lose the twins, or worse, I could lose Z-"

"_Now don't you think like that Anthony. From what I've seen and heard, Ziva is a very strong woman, and it seems those babies of yours are already fighting. Don't give up hope."_

"I'm doing the best I can here Uncle Vincenzo. I just hope it's enough."

"_It will be son. It will be."_

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><p>After the phone call, Tony made a light lunch for him and Ziva, and once she finally emerged from the bathroom, they both settled on the couch to watch some TV.<p>

Despite his wife's best efforts to keep him busy, Tony's thoughts continuously drifted towards the call with his Uncle. _My father had a blood clot. My father had a blood clot. _He hadn't realised he'd said it out loud, until Ziva started stroking the back of his neck to comfort him. He leaned into the touch for a moment, and closed his eyes to focus solely on her and the soft movement of her fingers.

"Is there anything I can do?"

_You already do enough, _he thinks. As long as she stays by his side, there's nothing he can't eventually tackle and deal with. "Just love me."

She leant forward and pressed her lips to his, pouring her heart into the kiss, and letting him feel every emotion she does when around him. His hands fist into her hair, and pull her closer, his tongue sliding along hers as he does. They only separate when persistent knocking enters their hearing, and Tony growls low in his throat at being interrupted, before rushing over to see who is on the other side of the door.

He's set to unleash his displeasure, when a much smaller and older looking woman comes into view. Probably a few inches shorter than Ziva, he estimates. She has short, light grey hair, slightly larger than Palmer's round glasses resting on her nose, and a smile on her face. "May I help you?"

"Sorry. My name is Lily Kendrick. I have just moved in next door." _Oh yeah. Forgot that house was empty. Maybe there's a ghost in there or something. Yeah. Oh, her lips are moving. She's saying something to me. _"I just wanted to introduce myself to the neighbours."

"_Tony, who is at the door?" _Ziva's voice finally snaps him outta his head space, and he replies back quickly. "Our new neighbour, honey." Tony pulls back the door, and asks the lady to come and meet them both.

The woman slowly enters the house, and trudges towards the open living area, where Ziva is sat. Tony quickly follows, and moves around their new neighbour. "Ziva, this is Lily Kendrick, she just moved in next door."

Ziva slowly shuffled forward on the couch and extended one hand out. Mrs Kendrick shook her hand, and politely sat down beside Ziva, when Tony guided her to the couch. "It is nice to meet you, Ms. Kendrick. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh, I don't want you to be put out."

"No, I will not. Tony was going to make some anyway, weren't you Tony?"

Tony raised his eyebrows at his wife, before her encouraging look was passed, and he sighed and stood. "Yes dear." He trotted off to the kitchen, leaving the women to chat alone.

"Um, so, how long have you been in America, Ms Kendrick?"

"About one month now. It's a wonderful place to retire to."

Ziva smiles in agreement, whilst rubbing softly over her stomach absentmindedly. "I understand the desire to live here. I moved to America five years ago for a new life."

"It seems you got everything and more, when you came here, dear."

"I got everything, I never thought I could."

When Tony returns with the tea, all three get to chatting properly, and the partners discover that their new neighbour, used to be a cop back in England, before she retired a few years prior. Mrs Kendrick talks about her life as a Detective Sergeant in East Sussex, her family, and how she has three grandchildren by her daughter, and another one due soon, through her eldest son.

Mrs Kendrick stayed most of the afternoon, and Ziva was finally pleased to see a smile on her husband's face again, looks like they have a new friend to play with, in a matter of words.

The elder woman mentions how much she would love for her grandchildren to meet the partner's twins once they are born, and Tony and Ziva like the idea of their children having others to interact with, before they are placed in the Navy Yard childcare centre, once they both return to work.

Once their new neighbour finally parts ways with the pair, Tony and Ziva get ready for bed.

"You were smiling earlier."

Tony turned to face his wife in the bed, and propped his head up on his pillow. "I do smile, you know."

"I know you do. It just has not happened in a while. It was nice to see again."

"Lily is, a wonderful woman. I don't know. There's something interesting about her."

"I agree. She is quite, intriguing."

Ziva moved to slip under the covers, and Tony shuffled across slightly to make room, whilst she tried to lie down, and then softly draped his arm over the top of her abdomen, stroking over her stomach. "Goodnight babies." He leans forward and presses a kiss over her tank top. "Night Ziva." He quickly kisses her, before turning off the bedside lamp.

"Goodnight Tony."

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><p><strong>I am running out of things to say down here... Um, heres something.. It's pitch black outside my bedroom, apart from the bright shining moon glistening through the trees. Yeah...<strong>


	35. Drunky Abby and short lived happiness

**This chapter is extremely short this time, I feel like I'm running on empty, but I'm not giving up.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

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><p>The team noticed the difference in Tony almost immediately during the following week of work, how he had a spring in his step once more, was cracking jokes and playing practical jokes on McGee again. It lifted everyone's spirits, to see him smiling and finally happy in himself, despite what had gone on, and what was still going on.<p>

Ziva was by his side each day at work, on break times, they took to the break room, and the parents-to-be started reading to the twins, so they could get used to their voices. It brought such joy to Tony, that the feeling of thinking it's a little stupid, always left Ziva, because she was too pleased to see her husband so happy.

Abby was so thrilled that she invited the entire team out for end of case drinks on Thursday night, of course, only the three musketeers agree, and that's how the four of them end in Ultrabar near Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Whilst at the bar, Tony's still trying to figure out why they ended up there, it's not exactly the best place for a heavily pregnant with twins, ninja and former assassin mother-to-be, and he has a hard time convincing Abby to try and go for a quieter bar nearer the Navy yard, or even their respective homes, that's a little more peaceful for the lot of them.

Ziva looks composed, but he can tell she's tired; she's been up on her feet for the better part of six hours today, on and off. McGee looks like he's well ready to skedaddle outta the club, because some 10ft tall blonde chick with her boobs hanging out her dress, keeps eyeing him up. She tried that look on Tony for a while, before Ziva firmly planted one on his lips, and tried to make sure both their wedding bands were in view for the chick to get the message.

They've had a few drinks, nice chat, but Tony is more than willing to call it a night. They are all on-call as it is.

"Can we have a quieter bar next time, Abs?"

Abby quits slurping on her drink and attempts to swallow a hiccup she feels is coming. "Wha' you mean?"

Tony grabs the drink from his friend, and places it down on the counter beside him. "I mean, this club isn't exactly us, is it?"

She snorts; "Soggy sport. I having fun here, you wanna go home, go."

"Yeah. And I think, I need to cut you off, before you get the nightmare of all hangovers tomorrow."

She pats his stomach. "Don' go spoiling ma fun, coz you had enough. Plenty o' guys in here for me."

"Don't do anything stupid alright? I'm taking Ziva home now."

Abby then turns to locate her friend in the club, and spots her and McGee sat at their table just at the edge of the bar. "She look fine to me. Though Timmy look as though, he about to throw up. Blondie been flirting with him forever. Didn't she flirt with you too?"

"I'm gonna get Probie to take you home Abs."

Abby threw her arms up at either side of her and pulled a face at him. "I fine. See?" She attempts to stand up, only to stumble back into Tony, and he moves his arms to steady her.

"You drunk, you go home."

"No spoil m'fun."

Tony dragged Abby across the room, back to his wife and team mate, and explained to the probie that he needed to make sure their resident Goth got home safely. He and Ziva didn't leave until they saw McGee and Abby getting in a cab.

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><p>Tony and Ziva go through the usual night time routine when they retire home eventually, and it's just before Tony slips into bed beside his wife, that he finally plucks up the courage to discuss something with her, that he's been considering for days.<p>

"Honey, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

He moves to sit on his side of the bed, just an inch or so from her. "Ok. I've been considering something, for a little while, and I wanted, to run it by you."

"What is it, Tony?"

He sighed; "You know how, we already have one name for the girls?" She nodded; "Well, I've been thinking of another one... And, I've been thinking long and hard about this-"

"Tony."

"Sorry... It's um, its Tali."

She was silent so long, that Tony began to panic that he had said something wrong, and he turned to face her, and noticed a cold expression on her face. "Ziva?"

"Why would you want to use that name?" Her words come out in a whisper, and he has to concentrate hard to actually see the words leave her mouth, because her lips barely move.

"What do you mean?"

"I do not want one of our daughters to have that name."

"Ziva, I didn't mean to drag up old memories, I thought of the name in good faith I-"

"Just go to sleep, Tony."

Afraid to mess with the delicate balance between them, Tony silently crawled into bed, and remained alone on his side. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut now. Perhaps thinking something was for the good of someone else really wasn't.

He sighed and swiped a hand back and forth over his forehead. _And a new war begins._

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><p><strong>Sorry, I'm taking Tony back into the fold, it will be this way for a while. But hey, I gave you a heads up. Prepare yourselves, it aint pretty.<strong>


	36. Old memories and nightmares

**And the angst continues...**

**Reviews:**

**Someoneslove (Chapter 35) Yes. I never planned on all this angst, but I'm thrilled you keep coming back to read my story.**

**Violate (Chapter 35) Thank you sooo much. I'm glad you're enjoying my writing skills and the story. It's fun to bring this story to life.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. I know that.**

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><p>Tony's too concerned and hurt to say even a word to his wife the following morning, and when they do have conversations, it eventually leads to an argument over nothing, and he's confused as hell.<p>

She carries out her skills immaculately at work, whilst he's just plodding along, dreading the next unprofessional words they'll exchange. He's seriously not cut out for this shit anymore.

Part way through the day, he receives a phone call from his Uncle, saying his father has relapsed and needed surgery again, and wanted to see him urgently. He debated all day what to do, even asking Abby for advice, despite already knowing what she'd tell him.

He decided not to discuss anything with his wife, until he had something concrete, which was after he had asked both the Director and Gibbs for a few days off. He told Ziva outright he was going to New York for a few days, and wasn't surprised when she didn't offer to go with him. She couldn't fly when she was seven months pregnant anyway, but it would've been nice for the support.

He merely kisses her cheek, and bids goodbye, before he heads home to pack, so he can catch the quickest possible flight to JFK. _Let's just get these next few days out of the way, _he thinks. He's not looking forward to seeing his father, because he knows some horrible memories will arise and he'll resent his father even more, or they'll finally sort their crap out, and could actually get a father/son relationship again. He's not sure which one scares him more.

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><p>The flight was rough and he was restless throughout, but seeing his Uncle's face in the arrivals gate lifts his spirits, like it always does.<p>

Vincenzo takes Tony straight back to his home to drop off his stuff, and get some strong coffee in him before heading to the hospital. Tony gets down to business pretty quick, asking what happened to his father in the past few days, and his Uncle doesn't hold back. It seems as though Seniors heart, ain't what it used to be, and the Doctors are doing their best, but Senior may be given limitations at the end of all this. _So much for a lucky streak in the romance department after this Dad, _he thinks.

Vincenzo gives Tony time to come to terms with the news, and figure out an approach to his father, before he drives him to the hospital, where his Aunt and Senior's so-called distressed fiancé is waiting.

Vincenzo and Sophie order little miss big boobs out of the room whilst Tony visits, and despite her over-acted reluctance, her face brightens up, when Junior walks past her, but he ignores her, and any attempts she has on cue to charm him. He ain't interested.

His father is a little droopy but awake nonetheless, and Tony remains rooted to the foot of his father's bed, his hands in his pockets, eerily silent whilst he tries his hardest not to avoid the lax gaze of his Dad, and run for the hills. _God, where's Ziva when I need her? Oh yeah, back in DC, because she chose not to come and support-_

"Junior." His father's voice is seriously weaker than the last time he heard him at the engagement party over a month ago. He expects that, really, he isn't stupid. He's been on his death bed before, so he knows the weakened feeling and being able to do nothing about it.

"Dad. You wanted to see me?" He is careful with his words, and does his best to disguise the extremely uncomfortable feelings he has right now.

"I just, wanted to apologise, for what happened, last time we were together."

He clenches his fists across the bar on the foot of the bed, and his jaw involuntarily tightens. "Yeah. Little late."

"I'm sorry, son."

"You know... I hoped I would never get used to those words as a kid... You'd apologise to me, every time you did it. I'm sorry Junior. I didn't mean it. I'm just frustrated. I'm so sorry... But you kept on doing it. EVER SINCE MY MOM DIED!" He wiped furiously at the few tears that escaped and took several deep breaths to calm himself. "8 years, Dad. 8 years, of you, lashing out, coming home drunk, beating me up... I was thrilled, when you disowned me at 16. If it wasn't for Aunt Sophie and Uncle Vincenzo taking me in, and, trying to fix me... I don't know where I'd be today."

"Junior-"

Tony lifted one hand up to prevent his father from speaking any further. "Save it, Dad. I don't want to hear it again... You never apologised after it was all over, once I was out of your life. And to be honest, I have so much crap going on right now, that you'll just make it worse."

"Junior please."

"Please what? Tell you, how happy I am that you're here? Tell you, that I forgive you for everything; you've ever done to me? Because right now Dad, I'm having serious trouble doing either... Glad to see you alive, but that's all. I can't, have a relationship, with someone, who lets me down."

The consistent beeping of his father's heart monitor sped up, and Tony quickly dashed from the room before he ended up being the cause of death. His Uncle and Aunt speedily followed him down the corridor of the ward, until Tony gave in and collapsed to the floor beneath him.

Sophie immediately bent down to cradle him when he began shaking uncontrollably with sobs. _Why was life so determined to throw him in the gutter and destroy him piece by piece? It's never ending._

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><p><em>He dreads the moment he has to walk through his front door. The relationship is strained at the moment, he knows that. He's only young, but he's not stupid. Ever since his mother died, he and his father have drifted apart, and Tony's not sure what to do anymore.<em>

_He hears thrashing when he steps up to his front door, and he rushes inside without thinking. His father is throwing bottles around the front room again. He suddenly remembers why he doesn't set foot in there. It's no place for an eight year old._

_He carefully sits his bag down in the hallway, and takes a tentative step towards his father. "Dad?"_

_Senior stops his movements for a moment, and Tony hopes to god he is settling down, but then his father's eyes flare up, and Tony does his best to dodge the bottle that comes his way. It grazes his arm, and he winces heavily at the pain the glass inflicted. He takes a step backwards when his father takes one forward, and Tony feels a little scared now. He had good news for his Dad, he'd come first in track today, but obviously he's the last thing on Senior's mind right now, he thinks._

"_What's the matter Junior? Why you not happy? It's an all man's home this, boy. JUST YOU AND ME."_

_Tony instantly takes another step back in fear. "I am happy, Dad. I swear."_

_He feels the strain of his muscles under his father's vice grip, and he does everything in his power to fight him off, so he can escape to his room. But it leads to a struggle, and his father's violent and alcoholic attitude kicks up a notch, and Tony is the one who ends up with large handprints and bruises down his arms._

_He just remembers running upstairs after that, and the comfort of his bed does no good to stop the tears or the fear he now harbours. His father has never raised a hand to him before, and frankly he's a little young to understand why this has all happened._

Tony's body is glistening with sweat when he wakes, and he takes several deep breaths and rubs a hand over his face to try and swallow the memory of his father's first lashing. He can't see his father anymore, it doesn't help.

Maybe it's time to see a professional...

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><p><strong>I can't believe I cried whilst writing this. I'm seriously invested here. God...<strong>


	37. I'm missing her with a phonecall

**This chapter is a little better on the emotional side to the previous. So keep your chin up guys, it's gonna be ok.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

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><p>He spends the following day moping around his Aunt and Uncle's home, and tries to find a positive in his situation, and the only few he can think of is, he has two daughters on the way, a beautiful wife, his extended family and his team. He knows all that should be enough, but the thought that he actually may have wanted to try and gain a relationship with his father, is still swirling around in his mind, and he's always tended to live in the negativity.<p>

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" He thinks the voice is a distant reminder at first, because he's so stuck in his messed up head, that he hasn't realised the voice belongs to his Aunt Sophie, who has followed him out on the balcony.

It's not until she asks again, and politely taps his shoulder, that he truly registers her presence. "Sorry, Aunt Sophie... I'm ok."

Her silence confirms his thoughts. _She doesn't believe him, but is trying not to push him too much._ "I made a decision last night, regarding Dad." She nods in encouragement, and rubs his arm softly. She knows what's coming next. "I'm not, gonna see him anymore. I can't."

"I understand, Anthony... Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Uh, have any jasmine tea?"

She nodded, and steered him gently towards the kitchen, and sat him down by the island. "Why the change, sweetheart?"

"Huh?"

"The tea; you never drank this before."

He scratched over the back of his neck; "My uh, wife, drinks it."

She smiled softly at him, whilst dipping the tea bag into the mug of steaming hot water. "I can see that you are missing her Tony, so go and call her."

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired face. "I do miss her, Aunt Sophie. But I don't know if she'll want to talk to me."

"Did you two fight?"

"Yeah... I didn't think it would turn into a fight, but it did. It was pretty one-sided on her part, and I didn't know what to do."

"You listen to someone who knows, dear. You go, and you call her. I don't care what you talk about, as long as you talk. Tell her the truth; tell her you miss her, and you love her; and if you can, open up to her, about your father, once you return home tomorrow."

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><p>He's still fiddling with his cell phone in his lap a few hours later up in the spare room, tossing and turning it consistently. He knows he's just stalling, but he can't seem to find the courage to call his wife.<p>

The almighty shrill of his cell makes him jump so hard, he drops his cell. He notices the caller ID, _its Ziva. _He takes a large breath and picks up the cell. "Hi."

"_Hi... How are you?"_

"I'm umm, ok. How are you?"

"_Exhausted. Gibbs has, kept McGee and I busy, since you left."_

"You're supposed to be resting. You're seven and a half months pregnant."

"_Tell that to Gibbs, not to me. I am aware of how pregnant I am."_

"Sorry... Listen, about the other night-"

"_Tony. It does not matter now. Besides, I am, sorry, for biting at you. I should not have."_

"Snapping, not biting. But, I accept your apology; and, I'm sorry too."

There's a long pause on her side of the phone, and Tony does his best to patiently wait it out. _"You have, nothing, to apologise for, Tony... I should, be with you."_

"You can't fly now anyway, Ziva."

"_Please, stop making excuses for my behaviour. I know, I was mad, but I, cannot, forgive myself for not being there for you now."_

Tony sighed and clenched the phone tighter to his ear. He really didn't want to go through all this now. He knows the talk has to happen at some point, but at the very least, not over the phone. "I'm, not, mad with you, Ziva. I love you, and I miss you; and I... I just want things to go back to normal. Everything was good before my father came back in my life, and I, miss the happier times."

He heard her sigh over the phone, and knew she was choosing her words carefully. _"I love you too. I hope that I, do not, ever, put you in a situation, that would make you doubt my love."_

"I don't doubt your love, Ziva... I never have, and I never will."

"_Are you coming home tomorrow?"_

"Flight's due to leave at 9.30. Be home before lunchtime."

"_I will be at work. Will you come, and uh, see me?"_

"You never had to ask, Sweetcheeks."

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><p>"You getting back to work, David?"<p>

Ziva silently placed her cell phone back in her pocket, and followed her Boss back to the bullpen with a sharp nod. She hadn't even sat down before Gibbs softly pulled her towards the elevator, her waddling behind.

"With me." She didn't bother to say a word until he hit the emergency button, and turned to face her. "You fixed it with DiNozzo yet?"

"I hope I have." She saw no point in lying to him; he'd seen how miserable she was the past few days anyway. She rubbed her stomach when she felt a twinge, and took a deep breath. "I never meant to hurt him... But I did, and I am, not sure if he forgives me yet."

"He loves you."

"I know he does. And I love him." She felt another twinge, much harder than the first one, and the sharp intake of breath she did, made Gibbs place his arms forward for her to grip.

He rubbed his hands across her underarms to soothe her, until her breaths evened out. "You alright?"

"Yes. I have been having them since, Tony left."

"You been to the Doctors?"

She sighed; "I had an appointment, yesterday with my midwife. She said it was, Braxton Hicks. I will be having them for a while."

"You tell DiNozzo?"

"No, I did not want to tell him over the phone. He will be home tomorrow. I will explain things then."

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><p>During dinner with his Aunt and Uncle that night, Tony expressed how he felt the normalcy between him and Ziva was slowly getting back on track. He also explained how he wanted nothing more to do with his father, and would be grateful that any information about him or his family back home did not get back to Senior in any way, despite knowing initially that they would never breathe a word, unless they felt that they needed to.<p>

Sophie left to get an early night, so the boys could chat alone, and promised to see Tony off the following morning.

Vincenzo grabbed another two beers from the fridge and handed one to Tony when he reached the couch, sitting down beside him.

"Thanks." Tony took a large swig from the bottle, and winced when the strong taste of the liquid hit the back of his throat.

"I admire what you did yesterday."

"Basically telling my father that I never wanted to see him again? I can see why you admire that Uncle Vin."

"Cut the crap Tony... I admire, how you stood up for yourself. You let him know, how you felt all those years ago, and that you wouldn't stick around for it anymore."

"I just want to live a happy life; and I can't do that, with him around."

"Then go and get some sleep, because you have a wonderful wife to get home to in the morning."

He nodded, and stood from the couch. "Promise you'll visit?"

"Of course, son. I want to meet my great-nieces soon."

"Me too."

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><p><strong>Tony will be back in DC before you know it people, and he's going to talk to someone about his Daddy issues, who none of you may expect, at least on first try.<strong>


	38. God help this difficult husband of mine

**I swear, the majority of this chapter wasn't meant to happen. It just came at me. Who I had actually planned for Tony to talk to first, will be in the following chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own it.**

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><p>As soon as his plane touches down in DC that morning, he gets a cab to drop him home, to change his clothes, and takes his car straight to the Navy Yard to see Ziva, and the rest of his team.<p>

He contemplates pulling his wife aside when he sees her, to explain what went down in New York, but has a change of heart. Work isn't the best place for it, especially when he's technically not on the clock until tomorrow.

So he settles for kissing her as long as she lets him whilst in the bullpen, until Gibbs orders them away for a half hour break. He drags her outside to the garden area he knows is private and out of the way from the majority of the Yard and Agents and civilian workers.

She parks herself down on the bench beside him and before he can utter a word, she plants another kiss on his lips, a little longer and a little harder than the previous. "I missed you." She murmurs the words softly on his lips, and his hand comes up to cup her cheek.

"I missed you too; and I certainly missed that."

"I'm sorry, for not going with you, to New York. It was selfish and I-"

"Forget it. Please? It's done... How've the twins been?"

She instantly grabs his hand from her face and places it against the top of her abdomen where one of the twins is kicking. "They have been difficult since you left."

His fingers immediately spread and stretch over the top of her stomach and the motion slows down the kicking one of their daughter's is currently engaging themselves in. "You been bad for mommy, babies?"

"I went to see Dr. Johnson the other day for my appointment. She said I am having Braxton Hicks. I will be having them occasionally until they are born."

"As long as they hang on for another month, that's all that matters."

Tony grabbed both her hands and caressed them softly in his own. "What happened with your father?"

He sighed; "Can we uh, talk at home, about that?"

She studied him for a moment, before nodding, understanding his need to postpone the conversation. "Ok."

"Fancy a burrito for lunch?"

"I could do with a burrito."

* * *

><p>Tony is ordered home shortly after he and Ziva return to the Yard after lunch, and his wife is left to help her team mates solve the remainder of the killer case they've been working for the past three days.<p>

Gibbs, McGee and Ziva work rock solid until late, and eventually it's Abby who gives them a lead to chase down, and they find their prime suspect in the torture and murder of a Navy Seal, in an abandoned warehouse with another victim ready to play his sick games; and during the take down, he swings for Ziva, and clips her round the side of the head, before McGee and Gibbs put at least five bullets in him and he falls to the ground.

The whirlwind of noises and lights pass Ziva by too quickly, and Gibbs orders her to be checked over by Ducky in the M.E van, when he arrives, and luckily she's confirmed to be in no pain, and gets patched up.

Ziva had asked McGee to call Tony for her earlier to explain that she would be home late, but when the Probie comes to explain to her that her husband is presumably on his way, and is rather unimpressed, suddenly brings about a headache for her. _He's going to go in overprotective mode._

None of them have much of a chance when Tony arrives, Ducky and Palmer are all packed up and just leaving as he comes storming in. He charges for Ziva and cradles her head in his hands, checking over her wound. She softly tries to brush him off, but she notices the flare in his eyes. _He's only getting started._

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I am fine. Just an uncooperative suspect." She attempts to push his hands away again, and is successful, but the way his fists clench, tell her that he is furious and will not let this go easily.

"Who had your back!?"

Before she could utter a word, he turns to his other team mates, and his fury rises. "Where were you two!? You were supposed to have her back!"

"I was clearing the other side of the building DiNozzo. We shot the guy."

"What about you, Probie!?"

The younger agent is taken aback, and stutters slightly on her words. "I-I was a few seconds behind Ziva."

"Tony-" He cuts off his wife immediately, and lays into McGee further.

"She's nearly eight months pregnant with twins, McGee! She shouldn't be out in the damn field!"

"DINOZZO! Enough!"

"She needed protecting. One of you should have covered her six!"

"Don't talk about me, like I am not here! I do not need protecting! Enough is enough, Tony. Take me home." He opens his mouth once more when he faces her, and she instantly knows he's going to protest further, so she cuts him off. "NOW!"

He silently and diligently follows the order, and Gibbs and McGee quietly watch them leave, before clearing the remainder of the crime scene and helping the near victim up to take to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Ziva doesn't speak to him the entire ride home, and Tony understands why, but after everything that has happened to him in recent weeks, he doesn't want another load of stress put on him. <em>He needs to tell her.<em>

Once they get settled at home, Tony can tell an argument is simmering on the slow lit burner that is their relationship. He knows he shouldn't have gone overboard at the crime scene; she can take care of herself, and she had McGee and Gibbs as backup. There shouldn't have been a problem. But here they were, sitting on opposite ends of the couch, because he had been overprotective of her, and taken it upon himself to blame whoever he could for his partner getting hurt in the field, because he wasn't there to protect her six.

He isn't paying much attention to the TV, as Ziva is fidgeting beside him, and he's preparing himself for the storm that is about blow. "I wish you would stop doing that, Tony."

_Oh goody, it's started. _"Excuse me?" He's not really calmed down that much yet.

"Doubting not only my skills in the field to be able to protect myself, but Gibbs and McGee's as well!"

"Who said I doubted your skills!? I never said that!"

"You are being overprotective of me; believing that I cannot do my work in the field!"

"Hang on one minute! It's not just about you anymore sweetheart!" He points downwards towards her extremely protruded stomach. "That's my daughters you're carrying. The second you're in danger, so are they!"

"I am aware, Tony. I am the one who is carrying them! It is merely a bruise on my forehead. Stop overreacting."

"I CANT." He fumed, standing up from the couch, to start pacing in front of her. "I can't lose my family! Don't force me too, Ziva, please."

She moved to stand also, colliding a little roughly with Tony's shoulder, before she turned to face him. "I am not forcing you to. Do you think I would put our unborn children in danger?"

"I don't know anymore... I'm sorry. I've been thrown head first into danger most of my life, I guess I just expect it."

"You should not expect it from me." Her voice is softer, and she presses a hand to his chest in a comforting manner. "What is the matter?"

"I umm... Can you, promise me, what I tell you, never leaves this house? Unless I talk to someone else too?"

"Of course."

He manoeuvres her over to the couch, and sits down beside her, fiddling with her hands when she places them in his. "I decided not to see my father anymore."

"Is that what you want?"

He sighed; "Yeah. It's what I want."

He was silent for a long while that Ziva moved to lean her forehead against his and caress his hands. "Whatever you are struggling with Ahava, I am listening."

"You know how uh, I got disowned, when I was 16?" She nodded; "Well, prior to that, my Dad umm, was very violent towards me... He used to hit me, and throw stuff at me, and be verbally abusive and drunk, most of the time, after my mom died." He glanced at her, in time to see a tear shed in tandem with his, and he could see her heart breaking in her eyes. "Everything came out the other day at the hospital... I told him, our relationship was non-existent. I don't have a father, Ziva."

"You have me, and them." She gently placed one of his hands over her stomach, and held on tightly to his own. "You have Gibbs, and McGee, and Abby, Ducky and Palmer, even Vance. Your Aunt and Uncle too." She wiped quickly at her own tears, and then softly at his. "We all love you, for who you are. You are the most amazing, man I have ever met, and you will make a wonderful father for our daughters."

He leant forward to capture her lips, and savoured the gentleness of her lips. "I love you, so much."

"I love you."

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><p><strong>Umm, yeah...<strong>


	39. One more knows & time runs out

**Apologies for the late entry, but that promo almost killed me. Many times. Little busy fangirling and writing that one-shot 'The earth moved.' But anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

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><p>The following day after an argument with Gibbs and even Vance, shouting his mouth off finally earned him what would put his mind at rest. <em>Ziva on desk duty, with maternity leave starting in a week. <em>He doesn't say it, but he's a hell of a lot happier. The team are not as busy today with the case they've got, but it's enough to them keep moving.

Gibbs is down with Ducky, and Ziva was sent to spend time with their resident Goth, and Tony and McGee have been sent out to collect a witness from Baltimore.

The car ride has been pretty silent for a while, apart from the talk of the witness between them. Tony's waiting for the questioning to begin, because Tim knows he's been acting off for a while, and McGee isn't as oblivious as he makes himself first appear. So when they pull over for gas, McGee doesn't start the car again after he topped it up, and Tony knows it's now.

"Is everything alright, Tony?"

"Concerned Probie?" The younger agent silently waits it out, until Tony sighs and gives in to the inevitable. "No, I'm not doing ok, McGee."

"Did bad stuff happen in New York?"

"Not exactly. But uh, things came to ahead... I, you've got issues with your Dad, right?"

He shrugged; "I guess you could call it that. What's this about?"

"I uh, finally stood up to my dad."

"Wow. Umm, what happened?"

"I practically banished him from my life." McGee fiddled with the files in his hands, and watched as Tony stared blankly out of the window. "He used to hit me." His voice is strained with the effort he has to push the words past his lips. He does his best to push forward when he feels McGee pause and stare at the side of his head. "When I was a kid, it happened after my mom passed away; right up until I was 16."

"Oh, gee Tony, I'm really sorry."

"I just, feel, like nobody understands what I'm going through, McGee."

The younger agent swallowed; "I can't say that I know, what it's like in your situation Tony; but I know how it feels to be neglected by someone you care about."

"It's ok." He turned to face the younger agent and wiped quickly at his eyes. "You know, I never expected to talk to my father about this. I thought, I could bury it, because it's in the past, way, back in the past, and I, shouldn't have brought it up."

"Tony."

"But everything just came out, and he hates me, I know he does. I can't believe what I did-"

McGee quickly places a hand on his friend's shoulder to stop him from rambling. "Tony!" It works, and the older agent clamps his mouth shut. "I understand. Alright? I understand how you feel about that." Tony does nothing but breathe slowly, continuing to watch the traffic pass by the gas station. "Don't believe that your father hates you. You only did what was best for you, and if not seeing him anymore is what's best for you, then you shouldn't feel bad about it Tony."

"But I do." His words creep out in a whisper, and his body turns to face the younger agent, and McGee can see a flash of hurt and despair in his friend's eyes, before it's gone again.

"Then learn to stop, because nothing was your fault. I know you don't believe that Tony, but learn to. Stop keeping the weight of the world on your shoulders, it doesn't do any good for you."

The silence between them is long, and McGee decides that what he said is enough to get through to his team mate, and starts the car once more. They get half way down the highway before Tony finally speaks. "Thanks, Tim. I appreciate it."

"I'm here, whenever you want to talk." _Yeah, he's finally letting friends get closer._

* * *

><p>Tony begins to feel a bit better during the remainder of the afternoon, once his expressed wishes to McGee to keep everything he said to himself and that only he and Ziva were the ones who knew the truth were met with a nod and a silent promise.<p>

The case is light, and Gibbs is in a good mood, luckily thanks to his three additional cups of coffee during his and the Probie's absence. Abby sent Ziva back to the bullpen, and the smile on her face, instantly lifted Tony's spirits, and he got a kiss and a little chat with the babies at his desk, before the case forced them apart.

The team work diligently throughout the remainder of the day, Tim and Tony get to play the Good Cop Bad Cop routine on some suspects, whilst Gibbs and Ziva question the witness the boys picked up.

The case is closed precariously quickly, and the three musketeers are left alone in the bullpen after their fearless leader did a runner home. Tony and McGee are busy throwing paper wads at each other, and Ziva is quietly checking over her e-mails, when a sharp pain in her abdomen hits her.

She hisses; "Ah." Tony and McGee instantly stop messing around and turn to face her. Her hands come down to cradle her stomach, and the boys are waiting silently for the moment to pass. Tony had been informed that she'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions, and that she would do, pretty much up until his daughters decided to make an appearance. _Why should now be any different, right?_

Except that the pain doesn't seem to pass, and she's panting. _Hard. _"Tony." Her voice is shaky and harsh with the hiss that follows his name. He's instantly by her side, and his hand comes up to rub up and down her back, and he pushes the back of her chair against the wall to give her more room in front.

"McGee, get Abby up here!" The Probie dutifully follows the order and rushes out of the bullpen to gather their Forensic Scientist, in the hopes of providing some help. Ducky's not here, nor is Palmer or Gibbs. Who else could they ask?

"Just breathe, Ziva. Lamaze breathing, remember?" He imitates the breathing technique he had to commit to memory for these moments, and within seconds, she is copying him. "It's just Braxton Hicks, right?"

"I don't think these are Braxton Hicks, Tony." His face drops at the sheer realisation that his wife could very well indeed be going into labour this second, and he doesn't know what to do. She looks so scared. His heart aches and his head hurts, and frankly, he's a little unprepared for this moment.

He doesn't have much time to respond as McGee comes skidding back into the squadroom with a concerned Abby by his side. "Zivaaa!"

"What's going on, Tony?"

He offers his hand to his wife, and she squeezes with almighty strength when a wave of pain was strong. He winces, but doesn't let go. She'd kill him otherwise. "I think Ziva's in labour."

"Oh my god. Ok, Timmy, go get fresh towels, like, four of them, and borrow some surgical scissors from autopsy. Ducky will understand. Ok? Go!" The Probie is pretty much shocked by the whole situation as it is, and chooses not to face the wrath of a hormonal pregnant ninja and hyped up Goth, by running as fast as his legs can take him.

"Whoa, Abs, I have to take Ziva to the hospital. She's not having the babies here."

He turned to face his wife when she let go of his hand suddenly, and her shaky voice followed. "T-Tony?" Both he, Ziva and Abby looked down in the Israeli's chair, and noticed the wet patch. "My waters broke."

"Oh crap."

"Looks like we're running out of time."

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><p><strong>Well looky here, something good is coming for you guys. I told you the happiness was on its way. The baba's are going to make an appearance. :D<strong>


	40. It's a bit late for a countdown

**In regards to some people's reviews on chapter 38 about Ziva being in the field. Yes, I know it's expected for her to be at her desk, but think of all the arguments she and Tony have had in recent chapters leading up to chapter 38, and she's a little annoyed and wants to be out in the field to prove she's still capable. See it from a stubborn Ziva POV, and Gibbs reluctantly lets her.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

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><p>"Ziva, can you move?" She continues to do her breathing, but manages to nod her head. Yes, she can move. But none of them are sure how far she can get before these babies make their entrance.<p>

"She may have to deliver here, Tony."

He whirls his head around to Abby who is stood by his wife's left, one hand in Ziva's, with the other free hand resting on top of their connected hands. "She's going to Bethesda, once McGee gets back."

"We might not get there in time."

"If we keep waiting around here we won't, no!"

Luckily Tim chooses that minute to come rushing in, panting heavily, with a clump of towels in his arms. "I got like six towels. The surgical scissors are in my pocket."

"Ok, now spread two of them out in front of Ziva's desk-"

"I. AM. NOT. HAVING. THE. BABIES. HERE." Agreeing wholeheartedly with his wife, Tony adjusts to help her stand up, and he slowly manoeuvres her around her desk. Abby orders McGee to bring the things he found anyway and the two of them follow the couple, as they try to get downstairs to the garage, where the chargers are.

"McGee, I need you to miraculously improve your driving skills now, alright? We gotta get to Bethesda."

The younger agent nods. "Of course Tony. I'll get you both there." He then climbs into the driver's seat, whilst Tony and Abby help Ziva into the back, and the Goth spreads two towels against one of the walls, so Ziva can sit on them.

Tony sits in front of his wife, and offers both his hands, preparing himself for the journey ahead, and Abby wavers just beside Ziva, tying her hair back, and dabbing at her neck, chest and forehead, trying to cool her down.

"You guys ready back there?"

Tony takes a deep breath; "Yeah, we're ready."

McGee then puts his foot down on the accelerator, and the charger dashes forward into the streets of DC. Abby is passing news back and forth between McGee and Tony, whilst comforting and supporting Ziva, whilst Tony tries to help his wife maintain her breathing until they get to the hospital.

He thinks he's doing a good job of it, until Ziva decides to dash those hopes of his; "Tony, I need to push."

"MCGEE, HOW MUCH LONGER?"

"ITS BAD TRAFFIC. ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES."

_Crap, that's too long. _He looks to Abby for help. "You gotta help me here Abs. Can't do this alone."

"Ok." They both move Ziva, so she's in a better position to push, and spread her legs, removing her pants and underwear. Tony moves to sit behind her, so that she can lean on him, and opens his arms and places his hands back in hers. "Ziva, when you feel a contraction, I want you to squeeze Tony's hands, and then push, ok?"

Ziva does nothing but nod, and then as instructed, once a contraction hit, she gripped her husband's hands, and groaned as she pushed.

"WHAT'S GOING ON BACK THERE? IS ZIVA ALRIGHT?"

Before Tony could shout back, Abby answers for him. "NOT EXACTLY THE TIME TIMMY."

Ziva growls, and presses her head back against Tony once the contraction is over, and pants several times. Abby wipes at her friend's face whilst she rests, and Tony kisses her cheek. "Come on Ziva, you can do it."

She nods and briefly closes her eyes, before the next wave came and she pushed once more. "I can see the head Ziva. That's good. The baby is crowning. Keep going." Abby's words of encouragement keep her going, and the entire head of Tony and Ziva's first born is out and making noise before the aching agent needed to rest.

"I think one more push should do it Ziva. Baby number one will be here."

"Final push Ziva, let's go."

"You are never touching me again, DiNozzo." She growls lowly, before squeezing his hands and giving one final, hard push. Along with her groans and a little scream, baby number one makes her entrance, and Abby cuts the umbilical cord, and grabs a little clip to put on the baby's soon-to-be belly button, before wrapping her up in a towel, and handing her over to the new parents.

"Here you are guys. She's your first born."

Ziva's arms automatically come up to cradle the infant, and Tony shifts to look over her shoulder at his daughter. She's beautiful. She has flecks of light hair atop her head and a cute little nose like her mother. "Hello baby."

Tony moves himself from behind his wife, to sit beside her, and he strokes a few fingers along the top of the baby's head. "Hi."

Abby quickly checks in with McGee, so the parents could have a moment alone. "She's our beautiful baby girl, Tony."

He can't keep the grin off of his face. "Yeah, she is." _Totally entranced._

They get a few precious minutes of peace with the newborn, before Ziva's body reminds her, that another baby has yet to come, and Tony has to both cradle his baby girl, and get the living daylights squeezed out of his free hand by his wife.

Abby is back with them, and does her best to guide Ziva through once more, and this baby is slightly easier than her sister was, and is out in no more than three pushes with a much louder cry than the first. Abby cleans the baby up as best she can, and wraps her up, before passing her over to her mother, and Tony settles the seven minute older baby beside his second daughter in Ziva's arms, whilst Abby covers her friend's legs and modesty with the spare towels.

The parents do nothing but stare at their children in amazement. In a matter of minutes they've gone from partners to parents. It's a scary realisation, but neither care at the moment. They have two daughters who've finally made their grand entrance, and their smiles cannot be wiped away for anything.

Abby comes to sit beside them, and gasps at the babies sleeping in Ziva's arms. "They are so cute."

Ziva is too engrossed in her children, so Tony looks towards Abby with a beaming smile. "We know."

"I am soo happy for you guys." Tony signals her to lower her voice with a finger to his lips in a silent motion they don't want to wake the babies just yet. "Sorry. I'm an aunt though!"

Tony politely asks Abby to give them a minute alone, and she looks a little disheartened, but nonetheless wanders unceremoniously over to the front where McGee is just parking the charger.

"I am a mother, Tony." She finally lifts her gaze to latch onto him.

He carefully brushes the hair out of her face, and gives her a brief kiss. "I know." He smiles softly at her. "I'm a father."

She returns his smile, and leans back in for another quick kiss. "I never thought I would have a day in my life like today."

They both turn their gazes back to the bundles in her lap; "Me neither."

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><p><strong>Wasn't going to post this until the end of this week, but I'm bored and have nothing to do, so that's why its here. Enough rambling.<strong>


	41. The hospital checkup

**And here comes the babies names guys.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, nor the characters. Borrowed for fun.**

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><p>Tony and Ziva don't get that long of a time together once a crowd of nurses come out to the charger, and check over Ziva, and get her and the babies inside to be cleaned and put in fresh clothing. Tony has to wait on the sidelines with Abby and McGee for a while, until one of the nurses comes out to tell him that his wife wants to see him.<p>

He rushes off before the nurse could finish her sentence, and when he enters the room his wife is in, he's surprised to see that his daughters are nowhere in sight.

Ziva looks exhausted, seriously physically drained, with a tired smile plastered on her face that he mirrors kindly before sitting on the bed beside her. "Where are the girls?"

"They are still, being checked over. I asked for Dr. Johnson, she is with them."

He cups her cheek, and lets a stray finger play with some loose curls nearby, smiling; "You did real good before."

She leans into his touch, and smiles back; "I did not exactly have a choice. They were in a hurry."

"We got them that's all that matters." The rest of their conversation is a flurry with happy words and exchanges, and Ziva asks if her bag can be collected from home, along with a phone call to Gibbs to let him know what's happened, and Tony promises to get it done, before he slips out of the room to make the call.

It's a quick call to his Boss, with a fast exchange of congratulations for the new father, and Gibbs offers to pick up Ziva's bag on his way there. It's something Tony's grateful for, that way he doesn't have to leave his wife or daughters.

* * *

><p>When he wanders back into his wife's room, Dr. Johnson is having a chat with her. "Hey Doc."<p>

"Here's the proud father now." If anything his smile gets wider. He notices that Ziva is now sat up in bed, and moves to sit beside her. "I was just telling Ziva here, that your daughters are going to remain in the nursery for this week, until I'm satisfied they can go home with you."

He curls his hand around Ziva's, and he presses a soft kiss to her knuckles. "Why can't they come home with us yet?"

"As I told Ziva, they are two weeks premature. So I want to monitor them just in case. It's procedure. Don't worry."

"How are they? They were so small."

"They are perfectly fine Ziva. I got the measurements here." She lifted one paper over the top of her chart, and looked down. "Baby number one is 4.5lb's, and is 52cm from crown to toe. Baby number two is 4.3lb's, and is 50cm from head to toe. They're both healthy, and in the nursery whenever you want to see them." The partner's smiled towards her. "Have you got some names for them yet?"

"We have one certain Doc; but we need to decide on a second name."

"Well for now, we'll keep them as baby DiNozzo 1 and 2, until you decide." Dr. Johnson orders the couple to get some rest, when she senses their urgency to see their daughters once more. They need all the sleep they can get; life is going to be exhausting for months.

Except when the Doctor leaves them alone, Tony and Ziva steer conversation straight into baby names. They can't have a nameless child whilst one of their daughters has a name. They go through at least fifteen different names until they settle on one that they like, and after a quick nap, they ask to be taken to the nursery to see their daughters.

A young nurse, a friend of Dr. Johnson's is in the nursery when the partner's get there, and she introduces herself as Mary Harper, and takes the couple over to the far corner where two chairs are, right by the large incubators that hold their girls.

They stand in between the incubators, with Tony keeping a steady hand against his wife's back, as they watch their children sleeping peacefully. "They are beautiful little girls Mr and Mrs DiNozzo. Certainly are fighters."

"They are exactly what we wanted." The nurse tends to another child in the nursery, and Tony and Ziva take the time to study the girls carefully. Baby DiNozzo 1 has dark tanned skin, not quite as dark as Ziva's, but close enough. She has the same mouth and nose as her mother, but her hair colour is just as light as her father's. Baby DiNozzo 2 has light skin like Tony, the same nose and hair colour as Ziva, but the same mouth as her Dad. They have yet to let the world see their eyes.

Dr. Johnson comes wandering in then presumably assuming the couple would be there, and trudges over to them with the chart in hand. "So? Perfect or what?"

"That and beyond." The Doctor chuckles at Tony's response. Expected response for any parent of a newborn.

"Are you ready to share the names with me?"

The couple nod simultaneously and Tony rubs softly across Ziva's shoulders, as she stares at their eldest child. "Her name is Aaliyah Grace." The Doctor silently sketches that down on the chart, and waits for the reveal of the second name. The partner's then turn their gaze to their youngest child, before Tony speaks this time; "She, will be called, Adrianna Abigail."

Dr. Johnson quickly jots this down, before ordering Nurse Mary to grab the wrist bands and get the names finally written on them so they can get them on the twins for the duration of their stay in the hospital. "You got some very unique names there."

Tony is about to open his mouth, before his wife beats him to the punch. "They are Hebrew and Italian names. Give them some culture to live by."

"Well, I will leave you two and little Ali and Adi alone for awhile. But, I do think your friends want to see you."

"Thanks Doc, for everything."

"Don't thank me yet, I'm not done with you."

And just like that, the parents are left with their children. It's still hard to believe they have two daughters. That they're here in the world. Living. Breathing. Both of them a part of Tony and Ziva.

_They are gonna grow up to be heart breakers, _Tony thinks, whilst he watches his wife travel from one incubator to the next, admiring their children. _Not that I'll let any of those sneaky hearts near them._

"Stop thinking that."

He blinks in surprise and fixes his gaze on his wife's face; "What?"

"About boyfriends. They are only two hours old."

He shakes his head in disbelief; "How could you possibly know what I was thinking?"

"I know you, remember?"

* * *

><p>Tony knows an antsy Abby is probably pacing and harassing the nurses right now, and McGee is, well, he's not sure, but he's certain that Gibbs will be here by now, and Ziva needs those clean PJs anyway.<p>

So when he gets out to the waiting room, he's almost tackled to the ground by said Goth who is practically bouncing on her toes with excitement that has most likely been building since the minute the twins were born thanks to her and obviously Ziva in the charger.

Both McGee and he have to move Abby off of him, and it takes a little more effort than they first thought, but they get there in the end. He's given more congratulations, and the smile of a proud father instantly returns.

"So come on Tony, tell me what the names of my nieces are!"

McGee has to pull Abby back slightly because the look in her eyes towards Tony quite frankly frightens him, and they are both worried that's she gonna bolt it down the hallway to find Ziva and the twins, and she's not exactly allowed in the nursery.

"Their names are, Aaliyah and Adrianna DiNozzo."

"Beautiful names Tony."

"Aww! Have they got middle names too?"

He smiles again, whilst McGee tightens his grip; "Yeah, they do. Aaliyah's middle name is Grace; and Adrianna's is, Abigail, because we wanted them to have unique and important names. Is that alright with you, Abs?"

In the end she does bolt straight out of McGee's arms and into Tony's, and he can feel some tears dampen his shoulder. Once she pulls back he sees the blatant and extremely wide smile on the Goth's face. "Of course it is, Tony! I can't believe one of the babies has my name in their name!"

The friendly moment is cut short when Gibbs comes in, the aforementioned bag in his hands with a cup of coffee.

"Hey Boss."

"DiNozzo. McGee. Abs." He hands over the bag to Tony, and offers another round of congratulations.

"Gibbs, you have got to see the babies. They are seriously the cutest little things ever. They are so tiny."

"S'what I'm here for Abs."

Gibbs gives the soft order to Tony to show him the babies, and because Abby can't wait any longer she darts along with McGee in tow too. Only Tony is allowed in for now, and the three other team members watch as he kisses Ziva's shoulder and just watches the babies for the moment. They both have their backs to the viewing window, so they can't see what they are talking about when Tony moves his head beside hers, but a minute later Ziva turns and offers the team a small smile and a wave and they both move to the side so that their family can just see the twins.

They notice Abby's little gasp and utter glee in her face; she really will spoil the girls rotten. McGee is just simply smiling and watching the twins sleeping, whilst Gibbs is just observing. He watches what he can see of the twins from where he stands, and the partner's wonder why he has such a controlled expression; but just as Tony considers marching out there and asking his Boss what's up, they see a hint of a smile creep onto his face, and the partner's inwardly release a relieved sigh. They have no idea why, because it shouldn't matter. The girls are theirs, not Gibbs'. But his opinion has always mattered, and they do have a question they want to ask him.

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><p><strong>I get to write about the babas in the world now. *rubs hands* Challenge accepted.<strong>


	42. Questions, Mommy & Daddy Day Part I

**Surprisingly, I have nothing to say today. Apart from, I NEEEEEDDD SEASONX VERY BADLY RIGHT NOW! Ok, done.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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><p>They ask Nurse Mary if they can allow Gibbs to enter the nursery for a while; and they point him out to allow the Nurse to recognise who it is, and she agrees, as long as it's for a short while; and with that Gibbs gets the nod to enter, and he comes to stand beside his two agents, and studies the babies before him.<p>

A perfect mixture of their parents is his initial first thought. Tony then taps his Boss on the shoulder to gain his attention, and the older agent turns to face the pair, it must be important if they called him in here.

"We wanted to ask you something, Boss. Regarding Aaliyah and Adrianna."

He just nods and waits it out, and Ziva is the one to step forward, almost standing fully in front of her husband. "We would, like it, if you would consider being a Grandfather to them?"

The question takes him by surprise, and he has to study the couple, _really _study them, until he understands and he is taken aback, he'll admit that, not completely, but hey. "Me?"

"Yes." Ziva says that with so much determination and no hesitation that Gibbs feels happy, seriously happy.

"Yeah. I'd love to." The partner's grin from ear to ear, before Gibbs gives a Tony a firm hand shake and a little embrace and Ziva gets a full blown fatherly hug and kiss on the temple.

"Go and say hello to your granddaughters."

Tony and Ziva keep their distance to allow Gibbs to have his moment alone with the babies, and the partner's admire the way he is with them, stroking both babies' heads and giving them each a little kiss. It's a sweet moment for the Boss, and Tony and Ziva can't be more thrilled.

They go through a much excitable cycle with Abby and McGee a little while later back in Ziva's room; when despite that they want both of them to be an Aunt and Uncle to the twins, they also want them to be the godparents. They go through a huge round of hugs, and massive 'YES'' coupled with an overactive Goth who bounces around the room, shouting 'I'm an aunt! I'm a godmother!' over and over and over again.

Emotions run high in the best way possible, and it does end with Ziva in tears, because her hormones are raging and trying to adjust to the change her body has recently made. But Tony just cradles her into him, and Gibbs joins the crowd, and they all chat away, until Dr. Johnson comes to spoil the fun, and orders the team away so the couple can get some rest.

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><p>The couple get their very first try at feeding the following morning. Nurse Mary had prepared some formula for the twins, so Tony and Ziva get comfortable in the bed and the chair, and each get handed a baby.<p>

Mother gets the eldest, whilst Father gets the youngest. Both of the babies latch on rather quickly, and Nurse Mary leaves the family alone to gather some cots for the twins to sleep in, as they get to spend the day with their parents in order to bond.

"Do you feel as amazed as me?" Tony adjusted the baby in his arms, hoisting her higher so she could get more milk from the bottom of the bottle; then turned to watch his wife with his other daughter, effortlessly feeding her as if she had been doing it for years.

"More." She lifted her head to quickly flash him a smile, then turned her attention back to the baby in her arms, finishing the bottle off.

Nurse Mary returned no more than a minute later with two cots in tow, to place on the other side of the room, before she faced the couple. "My, those babies of yours sure are hungry. I wasn't expecting them to be done for at least a few more minutes."

Ziva pats the back of her eldest daughter softly, whilst the baby swallows the last of the milk. "Well, they are DiNozzo children after all. They take after their father in that department."

Tony slowly weans the child off the bottle, and places it down on the table beside the bed, before looking towards the young nurse with a smile in agreement. Yeah, he doesn't care. That's something him and the girls can have between them. Like eating contests. Hell yeah, with movies. Who can stuff the most popcorn in their mouth?

"Well alright then. I just need you to burp them." Nurse Mary grabbed some blankets from the cots that she had brought along, and placed one on Tony's right shoulder, and one on Ziva's. "Just place the babies over the blanket, so they are looking behind you, and bounce them slightly, whilst rubbing up and down their backs."

The couple followed the instructions, and soon enough, Adrianna spit up on the blanket, followed by a little burp, with Aaliyah quickly following. The Nurse then grabbed some baby wipes, and handed them over to the parents to clean the babies faces.

"All done." The babies yawned simultaneously before slowly beginning to nod off again, their tired blue eyes starting to close.

"I'm going to inform Dr. Johnson that everything has gone smoothly with the feed, but I will be back in about two hours to take you both through the diaper changing routine. It's what parent's look forward to the least. I and a few other nurses have already dealt with the first change, due to the rush you guys came in, but we're handing the reigns over to you. Good luck."

"Thank you."

Nurse Mary left them in peace, and Tony instantly stood, cradling the baby, before walking over to place her in the empty cot, pulling the cover up to her chest. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before emptying the second cot, of all the wipes, diapers, talc, and towels, putting them down on the large table in the far corner.

He then turned back to his wife, who was struggling to get out from under the sheets in the bed with Aaliyah juggled in her arms. He moved the covers back for her, and eased her out of the bed, so she could put the baby in the other cot to rest.

He comes to stand beside her over the cots, and wraps an arm around her waist. "That is our baby girls there, Tony."

He quickly kisses her temple; "I know. Our beautiful baby Ali and Adi DiNozzo."

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><p><strong>Bit of a MommyDaddy day for Tony and Ziva, that I will continue into the next chapter.**


	43. Mommy & Daddy Day Part II

**I want to try and focus on some other stories I have going right now, so I'm apologising in advance to the neglect I may possibly make to this story. I haven't and never will give up on this story until I have completed it, that promise I can keep, guaranteed. I'm also really busy in my life right now, so I will still update this and my other stories, but they will be irregular updates. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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><p>Tony is ordered to go home and have a shower and change, before they try the diaper routine later on, and he is very hesitant to leave his wife and daughters behind, even if just for an hour. But Ziva is adamant that he needs to be refreshed if he wants to stay the night at the hospital again, so he agrees albeit reluctantly, and rushes home to get cleaned up.<p>

He grabs whatever he finds to change into after his shower, putting some spare clothes in a bag for Ziva, including her latest Hebrew book from the nightstand, and a few movies. He picks up some of the onesies from the closet in the incomplete nursery, and stuffs them into the bag, along with two coats, some hats and matching mittens and thick socks for the girls to wear when they eventually get discharged.

He doesn't have the time to stay home and fix up the remainder of the nursery, so he calls in a favour from Gibbs and co, and they're all happy to help to get it done. When the team arrive, Gibbs immediately goes upstairs to see what needs doing in the nursery, whilst Abby and McGee try and grab a quick chat with Tony. He ends up digging out his cell phone, and shows Abby about fifteen different photos he and Ziva took in the hospital earlier.

She gets onto an excited rant about how amazing the babies are, and how she promises to be the best Aunt and Godmother to them. Tony merely laughs in response, and knowingly nods towards the Goth. _She's gonna go overboard, but she'll be fun Aunt Abby. Just what the twins will need growing up, when he and Ziva do something to irritate them._

"Ok, just a quick thing. In the nursery, we need some of the drawers fixing up, and filled with the remainder of the clothes that we stuffed into the closet. Umm, the mobiles need putting up, and the drapes need going up too. I think that's it... Oh, no, wait, there's some pictures in a box, at the foot of mine and Ziva's bed. Those need to go up around the nursery too."

"Tony, we got it. Don't worry. Go to the hospital, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok." Tony nodded, and then fished around his pocket, pulling out his house keys. "Here's my keys. You'll need them to lock up or come back or whatever. Make sure I get them back tomorrow."

"Tony, you will. Relax. Now go be a Daddy to my goddaughters."

He smiles in thanks, and rushes out of the house. _I hope traffic isn't real bad. _He's got the pleasure of going through the diaper routine this afternoon, and neither he nor Ziva are particularly looking forward to it, but are prepared nonetheless.

So when he waltzes into his wife's room, Nurse Mary is already there, setting up the changing table, and Ziva is sat up in bed with the twins cradled in her lap, gurgling. The Nurse turns and gives a brief smile to him. "Looking refreshed and ready, Mr DiNozzo."

"You bet I am." He returns a smile, and moves to put the bag down at the end of the bed, before sitting down beside Ziva. He places an arm around the back of her, and his other comes forward to stroke the babies' stomachs. "Hey."

"Hi." Ziva presses her nose to his neck, and takes a long, very audible, sniff. "You smell better."

He chuckles; "Yeah, the shower was good for me." He suddenly stops playing with the twins, and pulls a face, which matches Ziva's. "You smell that?" She nods. "It's them, isn't it?" She nods once more.

"I think it's high time you got those two changed, Mr and Mrs DiNozzo." The couple agree, and move themselves over to the changing table, placing the girls down softly, awaiting next instructions. "First, just unfasten the buttons down each of the legs on the onesies, so you can free their bottom halves." The partner's did as instructed, and soon the babies were kicking their legs about, and placing their feet in the mouths.

"Now, unfasten the diaper on each side, but make sure you each keep one hand on their stomach, it prevents them from moving about so much." Tony and Ziva followed the instructions once more, and held their breath as the smell finally hit them.

"Oh my god."

The nurse chuckles; "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"I am hoping so."

"Now, grab them by their ankles, hold them in place and lift them up, so their butt is in the air, so you can remove the diaper from under them." Once the partner's completed that task, Nurse Mary handed them each a few baby wipes. "When you clean the babies' butts, make sure to be soft but thorough, and clean their front as well, and then I will hand you some fresh diapers, with some nappy rash cream to put on them, to prevent obviously, a rash."

Tony and Ziva cleaned the babies, and once given the diapers, they each placed them under their children and lowered them back down again. Tony was the first to handle the nappy rash cream, and Nurse Mary guided him through how much to put on, whilst Ziva silently watched him, before it was her turn.

They were both relieved when they finally got the girls in their fresh diapers and back in the onesies, and Nurse Mary cleared up the mess, before she left the family alone.

"Well I am glad that is over for now." Ziva lifts Aaliyah into her arms, and cradles her to her chest, the baby looking up at her with wide blue eyes. "You are curious about what is going on, tatelah?"

Tony hoisted Adrianna up, and came to stand beside his wife; they both began unconsciously bouncing the babies in their arms, the silence comforting, whilst they watched their daughters looking around the room with curiosity.

"The nursery should be finished by tomorrow."

"Are the team helping?"

He nodded; "Yeah, just Gibbs, Abby and McGee." He looked down, passing gazes between his daughters. "Everything will be ready for my angels to come home."

"That is fantastic. I shall have to thank them for pitching in."

"We can, tomorrow afternoon. McGee has to give me my keys back anyway."

Ziva looked down at Aaliyah to see her yawning, and cuddling further into her chest. "Someone is tired."

Tony was about to comment, when Adrianna copied her sister with a yawn, and slowly began to doze in her father's arms. "Make that two."

They placed the twins in the cots and wrapped them up, before moving the cot's to the side of the bed, so they could have them closer, and not on the other side of the room.

Ziva slowly climbed back into bed, whilst Tony sat on the end, rifling through the bag he brought. "Do you want Dr. No, or Two Week's Notice?"

She bit her lip in thought; "Dr. No please."

Keeping his surprise to himself, he pulled out the portable DVD player, and put the disc in, before sliding in the bed beside his wife, pulling her into his chest to watch the movie.

He turned the volume down to low, so they wouldn't disturb the babies, and pressed a kiss to Ziva's temple. _Life couldn't get any better._

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><p><strong>Ugh, so tired.<strong>


	44. Thank you's and what to expect

**I am really exhausted right now, and I'm away all next week on a course in the countryside, so I won't be able to upload again for a bit, and it depends on how my muse feels. This isn't as up to scratch as I would like, but yeah. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

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><p>After a few more days at the hospital, Ziva is finally released, but the twins are not due to be discharged until the following day. So, after a lot of convincing, Tony manages to whisk his wife home to get a much needed recharge, before they get handed their children tomorrow.<p>

They share a bath, and after a light ham salad, they devour a pack of cookies between them in bed, whilst watching the news, because they've been cooped up in the hospital for nearly a week, and they enjoy the feel of normalcy it gives them.

They fall asleep with Tony against the headboard, with Ziva resting on his chest, with their hands clasped together just over his heart.

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><p>Tony and Ziva spend the next morning organising the house, making sure everything is in order for the babies' arrival this afternoon. Ziva recollects that they need to thank the team for fixing up the remainder of the nursery, and Tony suggests some phone calls, because they don't really have the time to give a proper thank you as yet.<p>

So as Tony is sorting out the car seats, Ziva takes on the task of thanking Gibbs, Abby and McGee. She calls McGee first, who is polite and touched by the sentiment she offers, and he returns the favour by telling her about the new baby monitor's he left them in the nursery. She thanks him profusely for his work, and apologises for interrupting his game, before hanging up.

The next one is Abby, and Ziva has to constantly keep the phone at arm's length, because the squeals keep coming, and clearly Abby isn't over the initial shock of being an Aunt/godmother. As soon as Ziva mentions the nursery, Abby goes off again on how amazing the nursery looks, and how the finishing touches on the cribs by Gibbs were just perfect; and Ziva makes a mental note to check on that as soon as this conversation is over.

She ends up spending almost a half hour talking with Abby; because the Goth asks how the last few days have been, and Ziva ends up discussing the days spent at the hospital, and how the twins got to spend a little time out in the garden. Abby is thrilled, and Ziva tells her that she can visit the following week, once the twins are settled.

After the call with Abby, Tony gets back in, and declares the car seats officially set up and strapped in the mini cooper. So Ziva grabs him and drags him into the nursery and asks him to check the cribs. He does, and he's the first to find the surprise. On the head of the crib, there is a long and softly crafted piece of wood screwed on, with a name on it. _Aaliyah._

"Ziva." She stops her search and comes to stand beside her husband. She gasps lightly and smooth's her fingers across the letters in amazement. It's just perfect. "Wow."

"I cannot believe he did this."

He smiles; "I can."

They both trudge over to Adrianna's crib, and sure as day, her name is beautifully crafted there too. Tony voices the opinion that Gibbs must've put these on separate pieces of wood, so they could be used for many years to come, and Ziva likes the idea.

She asks Tony if he can prepare a quick lunch for them both whilst she calls and thanks Gibbs, and he heads down to the kitchen to make a few sandwiches, and she wanders into their bedroom and dials a number.

It's not until the third ring that Gibbs does picks up with a gruff greeting. "Hello Gibbs."

"_What's up?"_

She shakes her head in response before realising that he can't see her down the phone. "Nothing. I just, wanted to thank you, for what you have done in the girls nursery."

"_Only did what your husband told me to."_

"No, not that. Well, yes, that, but also, the wooden name plaques on the cribs. I know that Tony did not ask that of you."

An air of silence passes between them and Ziva involuntarily clutches the cell tighter in her hand. _"Just something that fitted."_

"Gibbs, they are more than that. They are something that should be treasured. They were made by, Grandpa Gibbs."

"_Yeah... Bringing them home soon?"_

She smiles; "In two hours, yes."

"_You ready to be a mom?"_

She chuckles; "I have been a mother for a week already Gibbs. I am ready for this."

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><p>Not long after lunch Tony and Ziva get the call from Dr. Johnson, that the babies are cleared to come home and need to be discharged. So after a race to the car, Ziva drives them to the hospital in record time, and Dr Johnson and Nurse Mary are there in the nursery where the couple left their children the previous day, with smiles on their faces.<p>

"Tony. Ziva. I wasn't expecting you for another half hour."

Tony pointed towards his wife. "She drove."

"Right. Anyway, I need you to fill out these discharge forms, and then I want to go over what to expect over the next few months for you and the twins. Would you like to follow me to my office?"

The partners stole a quick glance at their children before following the Doctor to her office.

It took a while to complete the discharge forms; and once they were done, the Doctor went over the care plan for the babies that had been put in place, ensuring that the couple agreed with what was going to happen. The pair were told that a health visitor would be coming round during the first three weeks, before a midwife would be assigned to them until the twins turn one years old.

"What about you? How involved will you be?"

"I'm going to be the lead case worker for Aaliyah and Adrianna. So I will be involved, but not necessarily seen. I'm going to oversee the care plan and ensure that your children's well-being is cared for effectively. And no, that's not a judgement on you or the parenting skills you have or are going to develop. This is something set by law, that I must abide by. So, just take each day as it comes, and enjoy parenthood."

Ziva sought out her husband's hand; "When's our first visit from the health visitor person, Doc?"

"Well obviously, I want to be able to fit the visits accordingly to your schedules as well as my teams'. But within a week of your daughters settling at home would be best for the first check. It's very simple; just checking that you know how to pump if you're going to breastfeed, or make formula, whichever you choose to do. The health visitor will want to check that all needs of your children are being met, i.e. the obvious physical needs, emotional attachments, psychological welfare, enough social interactions with both of you and the children and to ensure that you have the relevant equipment and materials for them in their first few months. Don't worry."

"Do we uh, need to both be present at every visit?"

"Not at all. I understand that parents need to work and want a semblance of a social life. It would be beneficial for the both of you to be present at all of the visits in the first few weeks, just so my team can assess the pair of you. But after that, we'll work around it."

They nodded and handed over the discharge forms. "Can we get who we came for?"

Dr. Johnson smiled and nodded. "Get my favourite little patients out of here and where they belong."

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><p>After the quite frankly, shocking conversation with Ziva's OBGYN, Tony rushed off to grab the car seats from his wife's car, along with the bag they had brought back with some cover up for the babies to keep them warm; whilst Ziva spent the time waiting for him in the nursery with their daughters and Nurse Mary, quietly chatting.

When he came back, he and Ziva wrapped the babies up in jackets, some thick socks and hats, before buckling them in the car seats with a blanket each, softly tucked around them.

They both thanked the Nurse for caring for their daughters, before they headed out.

Tony was the one to eventually drive his family home, after he had a lot of fuss getting his youngest daughter strapped into the car, and watching Ziva do it effortlessly with his eldest didn't help matters, but with great determination, the job was complete, and the family got back to Casa DiNozzo with no other problems.

When they stepped indoors, Tony and Ziva set the carriers down on the coffee table, and sat down on the couch, facing the sleeping babies.

"They are home, Tony."

He smiled; "Welcome home, Aaliyah Grace and Adrianna Abigail DiNozzo."

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><p><strong>Off to bed, considering I will be up around 6am everyday next week. Gotta get used to that after five months of lie ins to 10am. Holy fuck.<strong>


	45. Lack of sleep and the health visitor

**So sorry for the delay, but I've just got my first job, and I only get 2 days a week off, if I'm lucky, and I use that to spend time with my family and catch up on sleep, and it varies to which days in the week I get off. But I'm working as hard as I can here.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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><p>After almost a week at home, the perfect glow of parenthood had completely left Tony and Ziva, and was replaced with exhaustion. They had barely slept since the twins arrived home, and hadn't even left the house. Abby had called about fifteen times in counting, and Ziva had ordered Gibbs to tell her to ease off when he called for the first time yesterday.<p>

They were due their first visit from the health visitor tomorrow, and had to get everything in order, which meant cleaning the house from top to bottom, bathing the babies, and ensuring they had a moderate amount of sleep matched with a decent meal before 10am; which gave them, 20 hours.

Tony and Ziva had agreed to clean the house as best they could whilst the twins were sleeping, and managed to tidy up the lounge, kitchen, dining area and their bedroom, before they took a nap to catch up on as much sleep as possible.

The pair were woken around 5pm by loud cries coming in from the nursery. Ziva was the first up, and she had to give her husband a hard nudge to get him out of bed.

"I never realised how much sleep we got with the job, you know. Until now, that is." Tony shuffled on his feet down the corridor and into the nursery, where his wife was walking around with one of the twins in her arms, so he picked up his other daughter from her crib, and started to gently swing her from side to side to ease the crying.

"I am certain you and I have gone 72 hours or more, without sleep, Tony. We are just, used to the job taking our sleep away." Ziva continued to bounce her youngest daughter up and down in her arms, trying to reduce the cries. When nothing changed, she ran her hand across the baby's bottom, checking a diaper change wasn't needed, but when Adrianna began to root, she realised hunger was the issue. "Tony, Adi is hungry. We need to make up the bottles."

He shifted the baby in his arms, and followed his wife downstairs to get the babies fed. "Have we got enough formula for today and tomorrow?"

Ziva settled Adrianna into one of the baby seat's they had left on the kitchen table, and moved to place one bottle into the warmer, before starting to make the formula, whilst Tony stood, bouncing Aaliyah with one hand while letting his other daughter hold his fingers in her hand. "Yes. But, we will need to buy some more. We only have enough to last until lunch time."

"I'll run out in the morning and get some more."

She quickly changed over the bottles in the warmer; "Good. Oh, and do not forget to buy some diapers. We have plenty for the week, but you can never have enough."

Aaliyah began whimpering in Tony's arms, and he couldn't trade arms, because Adi still had a hold of his other hand. "Hey Ziva, can we switch? My arms dying and Ali ain't comfortable."

"Yes, hand her here." They quickly traded places, but Ziva took to stroking Adi's head to soothe her, instead of holding her hand.

Tony separated the formula into the two bottles, and handed one to his wife, before hoisting Adrianna out of the baby seat, and they both moved to the living area to feed them.

The girls sucked greedily, and Tony and Ziva quietly watched the milk disappear. "Hopefully this should last them a few hours."

They both simultaneously lift the babies to their shoulders to burp them, before resettling them against their chests to rest peacefully. Tony rests his head back against the top of the couch carefully without disturbing Adi, and sighed heavily. "Is it tomorrow yet?"

Ziva shifts to look at the clock; "It's only 6pm."

"Oh you're kidding?"

She shakes her head; "We should put them down for a few hours. They will be awake again at 9."

"Yeah."

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><p>Tony and Ziva spent every few hours up with the babies during the night, with diaper changes, another feed, and the simple fact that the girls wanted the comfort of their parents. So when 7am rolled round, Tony showered and ran out to the store, whilst Ziva prepared some breakfast for her and him, leaving the twins to have additional time sleeping.<p>

When he returned, they quickly ate, and once the cries of their daughters came over the monitor, they fed, changed and clothed them for the day, leaving one hour spare before the health visitor arrived.

"What exactly is this health visitor, checking?"

Ziva collapsed next to him on the couch; "You heard Dr. Johnson; they will be checking the babies, how they have settled, and how we are dealing with them."

He placed his arm across her shoulders, pressing her into his side; "Right... Hey, I was thinking that I should ask for my paternity leave."

She lifted her head; "How long would you get off? We still need money."

He nodded; "I know we do. It'll only be a couple of weeks. Besides, you're not returning until the girls are 8 months old, right?"

"That is what I agreed to... I cannot believe I am going to be out of work that long."

He stroked her hair lightly and smiled; "We can always arrange for you to come back to work for non-field assignments, until your maternity leave is over. We can take advantage of childcare on the second floor."

"Yes, but I do not want to miss out on important things in our daughters early days in life."

"Oh my god Ziva, I'm not ready for this sort of conversation right now. I'm sleep deprived."

She sat back on the couch away from him, with a frown on her face. "What 'sort' of conversation? I am merely saying that I don't want to miss out on our daughter's lives. What is wrong with that!?"

"Stop getting defensive. Just, relax, will ya? Stop panicking over something that isn't happening yet. Our daughters were born just two weeks ago, there's no need to look nearly a year into the future yet."

Just as she is about to say something, the doorbell rings and prevents her from fighting back. So Ziva moves away from her husband to answer the door, and sure enough, it's the health visitor. "Hello Mrs DiNozzo. My name is Henry Jameson, I'm a health visitor that has been assigned to your case."

Ziva diligently nods and steps aside to let the man in. "Of course. Please come in." She quickly introduces her husband and the pair sit down and go through what happens with each visit; and they discover that these visits are more basic, and will only really focus on the physical well-being of the babies. So they discuss the amount of average feeds the twins have gone through since coming home, and the twins are checked over to ensure they are healthy, and go over the food supply the couple have. Mr Jameson also goes over the psychological and emotional needs of the twins briefly to check that Tony and Ziva are constantly bonding with them.

"I want to arrange an appointment with Dr. Johnson for Tuesday at 9:45, which is just a general check-up, and Aaliyah and Adrianna can go through their first round of shots. Is that slot alright for the both of you, Mr and Mrs DiNozzo?"

Tony nodded; "Yeah, that's fine. Uh, when we will next see you?"

"Well, I'm very happy with your daughters, so you are free for a week. I'll be back the week after next. It just allows a better balance for you as well as myself and the team assigned to you."

Tony leant over to shake Mr Jameson's hand, before Ziva followed suit, them both thanking him before Ziva showed him out.

Tony was just about to head upstairs before his wife stopped him in his tracks. "I was not finished, Tony."

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><p><strong>Yeah, I'm really tired. It's 10:30? God, I'm a wimp with sleep now. :(<strong>


	46. Fixing it & Daddy's feeling dead

**So sorry for the gap between chapters. I haven't been going on my laptop recently, and when I have, some of the chapters got eaten. Gotta remember to back-up next time.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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><p>Tony was literally ready to pass out on Monday afternoon. Abby had been constantly pestering him and Ziva about seeing the babies, and because they didn't feel up to having visitors at home, they agreed to bring the children into work that day whilst the team were in the office, so that everyone could see them at once.<p>

So after little sleep again, he and Ziva got the girls ready and headed to the Navy Yard after a quick call with Gibbs to confirm that they were indeed there for them to see. He and Ziva were still a little frosty with each other after the ridiculous _(in his opinion) _half conversation/half fight last week, and having that coupled with consistently screaming and demanding daughters, not much sleep and Abby on their cases, Tony was more than ready to shoot a few people.

When they arrived at the Yard, the couple placed one car seat each on their respective desks, greeting McGee and Gibbs politely before Ziva softly ordered them to get the Goth upstairs. McGee rushed off downstairs to get her whilst Gibbs took a hold of Aaliyah out of her mother's arms, cradling her to him.

"How've you two been?"

Tony rubbed his free hand tiredly over his face, keeping a firm hold on Adi; "I'm about ready to collapse."

Ziva pulled a face; "Don't over-exaggerate Tony."

"I'm not!"

"Hey. What did I say about keeping it out of the office?"

The couple instantly quietened down, and a moment later, McGee returned with Abby. "Hey guys. How are my beautiful goddaughters?" She rushed over to Tony before grabbing Adi out of his arms and bouncing her excitedly.

"Much more, relaxed, than us Abby."

She cooed down at the baby whilst McGee stared quietly at the baby in her arms; "Not getting much sleep huh?"

"No, we are not."

The couple watched a light bulb flash over the Goth's head; "Ooh. What about we all chip in to babysit on odd days that we're off? Like Sunday? I'm off on Sunday. I could come round and help you guys? Gibbs can I go?"

Tony held up a hand to stop her from ranting any further, it was a nice gesture and all, but he and Ziva needed to handle this on their own, especially with the girls care team working so closely with them. "Woah, Abs. We appreciate the idea and all, but this is something that Ziva and I need to deal with, at least until the twins are a few months old."

"But-"

"No, Tony is right, Abby. We have the, health visitor, a community midwife and other Doctor's dealing with us at the moment. We are very grateful for the suggestion, but, not at this moment in time. You can certainly visit; we just do not want to leave them right now."

"Right." Gibbs handed Aaliyah back to her mother. "We've got work to do McGee." Abby passed Adrianna back to Tony and he buckled her back in the car seat. "You on paternity leave for long DiNozzo?"

"Another two weeks Boss. Do you need me back sooner?"

He shakes his head; "Nope. Can manage without ya, for now."

* * *

><p>Tony and Ziva luckily managed to squeeze in a rather quick visit to Autopsy with the babies, to see Ducky and even Palmer, because they were family too, and after one too many classic 'in my day' stories from Ducky and an awkward Palmer admitting Breena wanting children, the partners were able to head back home again.<p>

Their home was the perfect solace for a peaceful afternoon. The girls spent a good two hours being entertained by their parents, and being fed, before being put down for a nap, and Tony decided to use the free slot to clear the air between him and Ziva.

She was in their en-suite bathroom, so he waited in the bedroom until she stumbled out. She was about to open her mouth to say something, but he wasn't willing for crap now. "I'm not here to argue." She clamped her mouth shut and folded her arms over her chest. "I want to apologise. For yesterday."

She quietly watches him, giving him a slight nod. He's appreciative of her silence for now, because he needs her to listen and not interrupt. "Things got, a little out of hand, and they shouldn't have. I was sleep deprived. Hell, I'm still sleep deprived; but, I know you wanted to get that off your chest and discuss it. So, I'm sorry for blowing you off about it."

She shakes her head; "No. I should apologise to you." She moves towards the bed and sits beside him. "I'm sorry, Tony. I was, overreacting about Ali and Adi, and needing to not miss a moment in their lives... I just want them to have a better life than I did."

He reaches over to brush a tear away, smiling gently at her; "You're a great mom, Ziva. Ali and Adi aren't going to resent you for earning a living. They're nowhere near old enough to understand that, give it about 8 years, and then yeah, maybe they might." He brushes away another stray tear; "But for now, they just know that mommy's there, and when she's not, she'll always come back to them, no matter how long it takes her."

She sheds a few more tears and quickly leans forward and kisses her husband in thanks, the salt of her tears mingling in their kiss. "You are my beautiful little idiot, did you know that?"

He shrugs; "I try." He falls back onto the bed and pulls her with him, resting half draped over him. "Nice to have some peace and quiet for a change."

Tony rubs his hand slowly up and down Ziva's back, whilst she hummed in appreciation, savouring the peace and quiet. He swears that just as he was about to drop off, his daughter's deciding to scream bloody murder, was punishment for any things he may do to irritate them in the many years to come.

_Yeah, he ain't gonna be sleeping for the next couple of months. Oh joy..._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's short, but hey, it's there. I will have a few more chapters coming in this time frame, before I start doing slight time jumps of a few months (2 or 3 months tops).<strong>


	47. In dire need of a professional opinion

**Basically I had very little inspiration for this story for a loooong period of time, plus I've been writing other stories over on my tumblr and devoting my time to major fangirling because TIVA COULD BE CANON AFTER THE FEB 19 EPISODE. I apologise, and I'm doing my best with this story I really am.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.  
><strong>

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><p>Another full two weeks has passed in the DiNozzo household, and Tony is beginning to believe that he really has gotten a good grip on fatherhood now. Ziva and her effortless transition from who she was to the amazing wife and mother he now knows is rubbing off on him, and he's pleased to say the least.<p>

Whenever he's a little unsure of what to do with the girls, whether it's putting on a sleeper wrong, or not being able to work the bottle warmer with severe sleep deprivation or over-hyperactivity under his belt, due to being heavily coffee induced, she's there to lend a hand and show him how it's done.

He supposes that motherly instincts are just a natural thing pulled out of a woman, but he's still surprised by it all, because it's Ziva after all. She never saw herself as a mother, much like him never seeing himself as a father. Yet here they were with two daughters, and the parental responsibility for a lifetime.

Life is on the up; well, neither of them are getting much sleep, the girls tend to cry when they leave the room during the night, but they aren't arguing anymore, and according to the health visitor, the girls have gained 3.7lbs between them since being born. Life can only get better.

To top it all off, Abby has revealed to Ziva who told Tony that the Goth is in a long-term relationship with a guy named Ben who she happened to meet whilst on a date with another guy called Jackson who Ziva was familiar with, and that she couldn't be happier.

Despite the initial happiness for Abby, Tony had called her and told her to tell McGee immediately, because of his dwindling torch for her. The Goth explained that she had told McGee just an hour beforehand and that he was dating someone anyway, a young blonde woman called Laila.

Tony unfortunately had to deal with a jealous Abby over the phone, and he put her straight in the nicest way he could by explaining that she couldn't be jealous that Tim had moved on, when she had years before him. It seemed to settle the dust, for now.

After the phone call he grabbed some orange juice for him and Ziva from the kitchen and brought them into the lounge.

"Can you believe that McGee's been dating someone under our nose the whole time?"

"Yes. I would imagine that he was trying to avoid a certain Special Agent's joking and prodding."

His eyebrows rose; "I would never do such a thing to dear Probie."

She hummed in disbelief before grabbing her book from the coffee table; "Stay out of it, Tony. It is none of your business."

He scrunched his nose up momentarily, before switching on the TV. "I'm happy for Probie, you know."

"I know." She responds without looking up from her book.

He sighs and turns the volume up on the TV slightly, and settles down to watch a movie. He knows there's no point in saying anything to Ziva now, she ended that conversation, and she looks so engrossed in her new book. (The one she had been itching to start reading since she was 8 months pregnant.)

They go about fifteen minutes in silence, before Ziva puts her book down and lifts Tony's arm and rests against his chest. He briefly presses a kiss to her head before turning back to the movie. _Nice night in. Could get used to this._

* * *

><p>"Hey, McGee."<p>

The young agent looks up from his computer and offers the Goth a smile. "Hey Abs. What's up?"

Abby clasps her hands together awkwardly and begins to ramble; "Um, nothing. But um, if something was wrong, then I wouldn't dump it on you. Not that I wouldn't come to you if I had a problem, I mean, I love you McGee, I tell you most things. So, don't take it as if I would be rejecting you or anything, cause I'm not-"

McGee stands up and waves his hands in front of Abby; "What's going on, Abby?"

"Um, okay. If I tell you, promise me you won't think I'm acting stupid."

"Abby I would never do something like that."

"Timmy, this is important."

Tim perches himself on the edge of his desk, so he is directly facing Abby. "Ok. Talk to me."

"Uh, right. You remember yesterday, when I spoke to you?" McGee nods; "About, Ben?"

"Abby, where is this headed?"

"I just want you to know, that even though I have Ben, and you have, someone... I'm never going to stop what we have."

McGee raised an eyebrow; "What do we have, exactly?"

"Well, you know, we love each other McGee. I mean, I'd tell you stuff that I wouldn't normally tell anyone else, I mean beside Ziva of course, but still. You're my best friend McGee."

Abby clutches him in a tight hug, and he gently places his hands on her back. "You're mine too, Abs."

* * *

><p>Saturday morning is quiet in the DiNozzo household, peaceful even. Tony and Ziva have already gone through the basic morning routine, and the twins are down for another nap before the clock hits 9.<p>

"I'm going to call Dr. Johnson."

He raised his eyebrows in question; "What for? We already have the date for the next appointment scheduled."

Ziva quickly grabbed the phone and started moving upstairs, heading to the master bedroom. "It is not about the girls."

She closed the bedroom door before dialling the number for the clinic, and asked to be put through to Dr. Johnson. It took several minutes until the OB/GYN's voice sounded over the phone. "Dr. Holly Johnson."

"Dr. Johnson, it is Ziva, DiNozzo."

"Ziva, hi. Is there something I can help you with, regarding your daughters?"

Ziva paused; "It's not my daughters I called about."

"Ah. Well, I've got fifteen minutes, go ahead."

She sat down on the edge of the bed and bit her lip briefly in consideration before speaking up; "There are still some things I cannot do, at the moment. Like, running, or..."

"Having sex?"

She sighed; "Yes. Tony, tried, the other night, but I... I don't know."

"Perhaps you didn't feel ready, Ziva." Dr. Johnson gently prodded.

"But I trust Tony with my life; I am frustrated that I had to push him away."

"Ziva, it's not a case of a psychological issue, your body physically isn't ready for sex yet. It takes up to six weeks for your uterus to return to its original size. It's only been four for you. Given the previous trauma to your body over the years also, it may take just a little bit longer for you to fully recover."

"I feel ready though, that is the point. My head is telling me it is ok, my body is rejecting the idea."

"It's only natural to want to get back into the swing of things, but I recommend you listen to your body Ziva, and just take it a day at a time. Your body will let you know when it's time."

"What about exercise?"

"What was your average exercise plan?"

"Generally just running through the town. About a five mile run at 6am, if I was not called into work. You are also aware of the demands of my job."

"For now, I would recommend some gentle exercises. No running. Yoga, swimming, and definitely stretching each morning and night to prevent your muscles from tensing. Keep that up until your next session with me, and let me know how it's been going, ok?"

Ziva nodded, despite knowing that the Doctor very well couldn't see her doing it; "Yes. Thank you, Dr. Johnson."

"It's my job, Ziva. No problem at all."

* * *

><p>Tony was downstairs in the kitchen once Ziva had finished her call, and after checking the girls were ok, she came down to help him.<p>

He was washing some lettuce when she walked in; "Would you like some help?"

"Oh, hey. Sure." He used a free hand to grab a knife from the block beside the sink and handed one to her to cut the vegetables.

She gratefully took the knife and began chopping, feeling a little release from the conversation she had just had. She knew that Dr. Johnson was right, if her body wasn't ready, then it wasn't ready. She still felt incredibly annoyed though, it was more or less the first time her body had disagreed with her head and denied her husband sex. She would've gained as much a benefit as him, if she hadn't of stopped.

But no, they got as far as making out and engaging in foreplay in first base status before her body screamed at her to tell him to back off. It's been four weeks, which she knows is below the recommended amount of weeks before having sex again; but she's still pretty pissed. Now it's possible her body may delay the endgame for them because of what she's been put through since joining Mossad years ago. That's exactly what they need, something to bother them, that prevents them from relieving tension which they suffer a lot of.

_Just have to find another stress outlet?_

"What's up?"

The knife freezes midway through a tomato. She wasn't expecting the questioning to start just yet. Damn it. Lie. Lie your way out of it. "Nothing. I am just, feeling run up today."

"Run down Ziva, not up."

The knife slices through the tomato rather quickly, and Ziva's grip on the handle tightens as she presses the blade into the cutting board. "Whatever! Run up, run down, that is what I am feeling!"

Tony sighed and dropped the lettuce in the sink and turned to face her; "Talk to me."

She continues chopping the remainder of the tomato with more force than is necessary, and she's more than surprised when Tony's hand grabs her wrist as she pushes the knife hard into the last large piece of tomato, squirting juice across the chopping board. "Ziva."

The knife is placed carefully on the top edge of the board, and her nerve endings stand on edge as she takes a deep breath. Why is it so hard to talk to her _husband? _They've been married for more than a year, partners for eight years, it shouldn't be this hard. "I'm just... A little frustrated."

"Frustra-oh." _That kind of frustrated, yes. He must be satisfied to know that sex without him for several weeks is stressful. What a nice little ego boost. _"I miss the sex too." She raises her eyebrow.

"You do?"

"Ziva, you're my wife, of course I miss that with you, but, I'd rather have you healthy because I don't want a repeat of the second time we tried this when we first started dating." No, she certainly doesn't either. Not a pleasant experience, and most definitely embarrassing. "I still get to kiss you and lay next to you at night, and that's enough for now."

Then it's enough for her too.


	48. Back in work

**Very short chapter this time.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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><p>The month before Tony returned to work consisted mainly of diaper changes; screams, family bath times, countless new toys and clothes for the twins and less frequent movie nights with his wife. He didn't realise how pleased he was to go back to work until he stepped off the elevator and took in the familiar sight of the orange walls and the desks scattering the squadroom.<p>

"Morning Tony."

Tony dramatically extends his arms out in a stance and grins widely; "Oh how the world is back on its axis. Father, I am home again."

McGee frowns; "You seem happy."

Tony's grin nearly reaches his eyes, as he puts his coat and bag behind his desk, and moves to sit down. He is happy, what's not to be happy about with the life he has? "Why wouldn't I be, McGee? I have a beautiful and amazing wife, and two perfect daughters. My life couldn't get any better."

"I'm happy for you Tony, and Ziva. Speaking of happiness-"

"Speaking of happiness, I got a dead marine no longer living a happy life." Gibbs breezes through with usual morning coffee, and grabs his badge and gun from his drawer, as Tony and McGee grab their gear. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The crime scene takes Tony, McGee and Gibbs an hour to sweep and clear, which is normal in first appearance cut-and-dry cases. Tony even manages to squeeze in a photograph of Adrianna chewing on her foot and Aaliyah cuddling a toy rabbit in her sleep with the entertaining tails of how those pictures came to be to Ducky and Palmer.<p>

"They're growing so quickly Tony. I can't wait until Breena has the baby."

Tony pats Jimmy on the shoulder; "You'll love parenthood, Palmer. When's Breena due?"

"Ah August. I'm so excited."

The trip back Tony is banished to the autopsy van; and Jimmy showers him with baby questions that he's happy to answer, until the gremlin freaks out about the cleanliness of it all, and Tony only wishes the boss man didn't want shot of him because he babbled constantly about his daughters during work hours.

* * *

><p>Ziva tries to keep the mood light in the house with her husband's absence; she plays some soft classical music from the CD that Gibbs had given her and Tony as a baby shower gift; and keeps the girls on the large play mat in front of the glass patio doors with some plush toys.<p>

The twins are babbling more at a few months old, so Tony and Ziva constantly talk more and more around them and make nonsense conversations to gain responses. It's been successful and the partners have been rewarded numerous times with wide grins and gibberish.

Ziva sits down on the floor and places a hand on each of her daughter's stomachs. Aaliyah shoves her fist into her mouth and stares at her mother intently; it's a connection that makes the relationship stronger in Ziva's opinion. Observation is the key. Adrianna meanwhile greedily soaks up her mother's touch, kicking her legs widely, prompting Ziva to gently tickle her.

"You two are growing so much. It only feels like yesterday you were born." The girls babble in response and Ziva grins widely. The girls are growing quickly, and she is so pleased; they were very small when they were born in the back of the crime scene van, and now they are what Abby calls her 'chunky little angels.' She'd love to tell the girls the tale of how they acted like their father in the impatience department on the day they were born, when they're older. "I will tell you that story one day."

She'll take their concentration on her as a yes for that.

* * *

><p>Tony returns home to a quiet house late that night; the girls are asleep because it's gone nine, and Ziva is conked out on the couch. He puts his stuff down in the kitchen and heads to the fridge for a snack. It's been a long first day back, and he feels a different kind of exhaustion to what he's felt since the kids were born. It's tiring but good.<p>

He goes to cover his wife with a blanket, and he's amazed that she doesn't stir once, considering she's even more of a light sleeper since giving birth several months ago.

He briefly admires how relaxed and even more beautiful she is when asleep, its exactly the same look that Aaliyah currently sports when sleeping; peaceful, mouth open slightly; whereas Adrianna sports some of his old sleeping habits, mouth wide open, arms occasionally above the head and legs fully stretched.

"To-ne?" Her voice sounds as groggy as she looks, when she sits up on the couch, and he moves to sit on the edge as she stretches her back. He smiles warmly at her and places a hand on her knee until he sees consciousness fully hit her. "What time is it?"

"About nine thirty." He accepts her brief kiss and squeezes her knee as she leans into him. "You been asleep long?"

She shakes her head and yawns again; "Only an hour or two." He watches her nose crease as she gives him a disapproving look. "Have you been rolling around in the trash? You stink."

He gives her a 'screw you' look in return and lifts his shirt to his nose to check. He smells a little sweaty and a bit like a dumpster but nothing as bad as she assumes. "Wow, you tell all your partner's they smell? I was in a dumpster this morning, but nothing bad."

She pats his shoulder playfully and stands up heading toward the stairs; "You are showering before you get into bed with me, DiNozzo."

The girly giggle to escape her as he chased her up the stairs is one of the cutest noises he's ever heard come from her; and if the way she falls into him as his arms curl around her as he kisses her neck is any indication, he knows he ain't showering alone tonight.

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><p><strong>...<strong>


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